Overcoming All Obstacles
by Kyuuketsuki-san
Summary: Sesshoumaru has a past he prefers not to dwell upon. Nanae's past isn't even known to her. Enter the realm of mystery, darkness and passion as both of them attempt to fight an unknown enemy.SessOC
1. Default Chapter

Here I am once again with my adored Sesshoumaru-sama. This ff is based on a dream I had and I developed it (while in school, my friends had to keep snapping me out of it). Anyway, I hope people will read it. WIP.

Disclaimer: Me, Inuyasha…no no.

Claimer: Me, Nanae…yes yes.

_Yakudza: Japanese mafia._

**Chapter 1: How It All Began…**

She sat, all by herself in the hospital waiting room. She was so small her feet only just dangled over the edge of the cold, hard seat. She looked no more than eight or nine years old, to young to be alone. A nurse brought her a piece of blank paper and crayons to keep her occupied, so she drew. She drew a picture of a happy family, her little tongue sticking out in concentration, and as she coloured she forgot about where she was, she forgot herself, she just became absorbed in her drawing.

The television in the waiting room blared and even though it was a news broadcast she looked up from her drawing and watched, not nearly understanding the terrible information that was being reported.

She looked back down at her picture. She swung her little legs to and fro as she added the finishing touches, red here and yellow there. She hummed softly to herself, remembering the nursery rhymes her mother had taught her years ago. Her mother was in there now, in the room with the wires and the machines that made strange noises. The small girl couldn't understand why her mother was lying on a white bed with all these cables attached to her currently frail body, she didn't understand why she wasn't allowed to enter the room anymore because she was confident that her mother would be better soon…

The little girl sighed. She wanted her mother to get well so she could go home. Her mother was everything to her. She never knew her father, he had left when she was just a baby and whenever she asked her mother why he had gone she always answered,

"…Because he loved us."

The child stared back at the television as another news bulletin was being aired. She heard the words but didn't listen to their meaning, and the news people talked too fast anyway.

"…_And onto the last news update of the day, the unexpected murder of police officer Taiyoukai during the late hours of Tuesday night, as he drove through a suburban area of Tokyo with his wife and two children. The bodies of both the officer and his wife have been located and identified but the two children are still missing, believed dead. The police suspect that the Yakudza may have been involved in the murder of their respected colleague and are looking into the case with much seriousness._

_Now onto sports, the Tennis Championship was won yesterday by the…"_

"Nanae," A voice called out.

The little girl's head turned at the sound of her name. A dark haired man in his early forties approached her and he was accompanied by a thirteen year old girl who was his daughter.

"Yes uncle?" Nanae chirped. She couldn't understand why he looked so sad, it seemed as if he were going to cry and his daughter, who was Nanae's cousin, _was_ crying and held his hand tightly.

He went over and sat on one of the hard, plastic chairs, lifted Nanae up and sat her upon his knee. She clutched her drawings tightly and he glanced at them quickly.

"That's a lovely picture, is that your mummy and daddy?" He asked gently. Nanae nodded. The thirteen year old girl, whose name was Sae, went to the hospital bathroom in order to wash her tearstained face.

Nanae gazed up at her uncle, puzzled , it was strange to see him look like that because he usually had a smile or a goofy grin plastered on his face, but not today. No, not today.

"Nanae, it's your mother," he said softly to the child on his lap.

"Is she better? Can we go home now?" She asked hopefully.

He tried hard not to let the tears fall. He swallowed the lump in his throat. _How am I going to break this to her? She's so small and fragile; she doesn't deserve all this pain, not at such a young age…_

"No, she's….sleeping." he told her.

"In the daytime? You just have to shake her and she wakes up."

He smiled sadly at the innocence of his niece. He took a deep breath.

"Nanae, she won't wake up."

"Maybe if you call her name loud enough then she will." The girl insisted.

Her uncle held her tiny hands firmly and looked at her.

"Your mother…she's in heaven now." He explained gently.

Nanae tilted her head to one side and blinked. "Can I see her?"

He shook his head at her. "No."

The child held confusion in her large blue-grey eyes but after a while she felt she understood what her uncle was trying to say.

"Mummy won't come back to take me home?" she asked in a small, shaky voice.

"No." was the reply.

Nanae lowered her head sadly, but she didn't cry, it being too early an age to feel grief. Instead, she closed her eyes and began to think about her mother, looking radiant, rising up through the clouds and joining the angels in heaven. Her uncle sighed and stood up, setting Nanae down on the ground and taking her hand.

"Don't worry Nanae, I promised your mother I would look after you before she…before she fell asleep. You're going to live with Sae and me." He told her reassuringly. The child nodded. They went to fetch Sae and the three of them left the Tokyo hospital after the uncle spoke to the doctors and after Nanae had picked up her precious drawings. They exited through the automatic glass doors and walked along the pavement, the uncle hailed a taxi and waited for the two girls to get in before climbing in himself and the taxi drove off in the direction of the train station, where the three would catch a train to get back to Osaka.

The taxi passed two boys who were making their way towards the glass doors of the hospital. The eldest of the boys limped slightly and carried the smallest in his arms and both had their clothes torn and were sporting a number of scratches and bruises. The eldest looked about eight, maybe nine and the youngest seemed to be five or six years of age and he was unconscious. The older boy limped through the opened doors and tiredly made his way to the front desk, half carrying, half dragging the small one.

Nurses rushed about and doctors shouted out orders and prescriptions. There were many people in the waiting room but they were all too occupied or too worried about their sick relatives to notice the boys approach the desk. The nurse behind it answered the forever ringing phones and quickly scribbled notes in a small blue book.

_RIIIING RIIIING!_

"Alright, I'll be sure to give Dr. Sakamoto that message, bye."

_RIIIING RIIIING! _

"Hello? No I'm afraid she's in doing surgery at the moment, please call in an hour or so, goodbye…" The nurse said in a rushed manner as she held the phone in one hand and wrote on a small white message board with the other.

"…please…help…" said a small, tired voice.

The nurse immediately stopped what she was doing and leant over the desk to see where the voice had come from. She gasped as she saw the boy who had called out to her sway on his feet and collapse, dropping the younger child onto the floor also. She rushed out from behind the desk and knelt down beside them, checking their pulses as a crowd of people in the waiting room gathered round them to see what had happened. The eldest was still awake but was finding it hard to stay that way as he seemed to be having difficulty breathing. The nurse called out for a doctor and at the same time tapped the eldest boy's cheek gently, trying to get him to stay conscious.

"That's it dear, look at me, the doctors are coming soon to take care of you and the little one. No dear, don't close your eyes, look at me, look at me." She said firmly. She wondered where they had been and how they got hurt. It looked as though they had been crawling through thorn bushes or something. The older boy began to slip into unconsciousness and she could do nothing to stop those golden eyes from closing. As she waited for the doctor to arrive she softly brushed the strands of silver hair that were sticking to the cuts on his pale face.

The team of doctors appeared with two hospital stretchers and instantly rushed to their side, the boys were hoisted onto the stretchers and hurriedly wheeled down the corridor, away from the crowd.

"Dehydration, fatigue, minor cuts and bruises…any idea of what could have happened to them?" The doctor asked, checking their vitals along the way.

"No doctor, Nurse Sato just said that the eldest collapsed right in front of her and that the smallest one seemed to have already been unconscious, that is all." Answered one of the younger doctors.

The doctor who had asked the question nodded and rapidly scribbled on the papers attached to his white clipboard.

"Is there a spare room for them doctor?" asked the young medic.

"Children's ward is full, there's no room to put them in, we've only got one empty room. It was occupied earlier by the cancer patient but she didn't make it. We'll have to move them into that one." The doctor replied.

They quickly hurried through the two doors that led to that particular ward. The pale blue doors swung once, twice and closed.

A/N: well that's the first chapter done, please read and review and if you didn't understand something, please don't hesitate to ask. Nanae's uncle is her mother's only brother. Just so you know. Kyuuketsuki san, over and out.


	2. Ten Years Later

Thank you to those who reviewed, like Viperthe strange (I'm so sorry to hear about that, and of course I like you! I'll change that point in my profile then if it upsets you, kay?) , and for the people who read the chapters please review so I know if you like the story or not. Constructive criticism is welcomed, God knows I need to improve my writing skills, and please do not send any flamers, I must warn you that I'm emotionally unstable. (bares fangs) and so are my kyuuketsuki bats. (bats bare fangs). Thanks!

Disclaimer: Some day I will rule the universe along with my faithful kyuuketsuki bats, but until that day comes, I do not Inuyasha.

Claimer: Makis and Nanae. Makis is actually the nickname of someone in my class who is also registered on 2: Ten Years Later… 

Nanae entered the shop and was amazed at the amount of art materials it contained. Her eyes widened and then a smile appeared on her face as she walked along one of the aisles.

She had never been to this shopping centre before, it wasn't here the last time she came to Tokyo, it was relatively new. Her first time in Tokyo was when…

Fuzzy images of white hospital corridors and solitary waiting rooms popped up in her head. No! She couldn't think of that anymore, not after she had put it behind her. She shook her head, forcing the images back into the deepest crevice of her mind. She never liked to think about those awful things, she tried so hard to appear content in front of others because she couldn't allow herself to be a burden on anyone. She always thought that if she was kind to everyone, the action would be reciprocated, even though she knew that in life, nothing ever came out the way you wanted.

She ignored the twisty feeling in her stomach and the swirl of thoughts in her brain and concentrated on the good things she had in her life, like her best friend, Makis. She and Makis had met during their first year of high school and they both had immediately hit it off, gradually becoming inseparable and the very best of friends. They went almost everywhere together, and since each girl was an only child, one quickly grew to consider the other as her sister. In other words, they were extremely close.

A few weeks before, Nanae's uncle had chosen to move to Tokyo when his daughter, Sae had made the decision of living there herself with her boyfriend in a small apartment. Nanae was a little hesitant about it at first, thinking of the school she would leave behind, her home, her memories, and most importantly, the best friend she would be saying goodbye to. Plus, it was going to be her last year of high school, why bother moving from one city to another and having to pay to enter a new school, when she only had one year left? She personally thought the decision of her uncle was rather absurd, but then, when was he ever reasonable? Nevertheless, he _did_ work in the ministry of education and the decision _did_ appear to have some advantages concerning his occupation. Nanae made up her mind to support her uncle no matter what, since he was like a father to her. If only saying goodbye to her 'sister' wasn't so hard…

But in the end it turned out Nanae wouldn't be saying goodbye because as soon as Makis had heard of the move she instantly ran to her parents begging and pleading to let her go to Tokyo also. Her parents had reluctantly agreed, upon seeing that she and Nanae were going to be eighteen and were both capable of looking after themselves. Nanae was thrilled at this and with much enthusiasm had searched for a suitable apartment that was big enough for two.

And now here they were, two eighteen year olds in Tokyo, wandering around the modern shopping centre and enjoying every minute of it.

Nanae fingered the fat notebooks and lusted over the shiny cans of brightly coloured felt tip pens, wishing she had brought more money with her. She ambled down the aisles of the art shop and breathed in deeply, she loved the smell of paper and new pencils. She approached one of the shelves and peered at the fibre tip pens displayed on it, the ones that she needed. She reached out and picked up one of the 0.7 points and tested it on a scrap piece of paper she had found on the floor, she put the pen back and chose a 0.3 point and scribbled, '_I like to draw_'. She tried out the blue, pink, green and yellow, unable to decide on which to purchase. Suddenly, Makis' head appeared in the shop's entrance.

"C'mon, Nanae! You've spent aaaaages in there! Hurry up, I wanna check out the that CD shop on the first floor!" Makis complained.

"Coming!" Nanae called back. She quickly grabbed a black 0.5 point, which was the one she always ended up choosing, and picked out a small navy coloured sketch book. After she paid, she strolled out the shop, grinning at Makis' groans and moans for taking so long. The two girls linked their arms and made their way to the escalator to check out the CD shop downstairs and to possibly grab a snack on the way.

Ooo

"Awww, man! Do we always have to stop here? It's so damn boring!" shouted one teenager at an older one. They were passing the art shop and the eldest had decided to stop and enter.

"Enough of your whining Inuyasha, it irritates me." He said and went inside.

"Yeah? Well…fine! Just don't expect me to wait for you!" The boy called Inuyasha yelled, and began to stomp off in the direction of the burger joint but remembering he had no money on him, he growled angrilyand decided to stick around and wait.

He crossed his armsimpatiently and grumbled to himself. He was so damn hungry and now he was forced to wait for his damned, stupid older brother to buy some damn crayons and finger paint.

"Don't take too long!"

He received no answer from inside the art shop, nor any sign that he had been heard.

"No more than five minutes y'hear!"

Still no answer.

"Damn you Sesshoumaru!"

More silence. Inuyasha fumed. _Bastard_.

Sesshoumaru strolled along casually, almost lazily down the aisles, taking his time, just to annoy his idiotic younger brother. He was fine with looking after Inuyasha and everything, since they were the only ones left of their family, but sometimes the little brat could drive him nuts.

Neither of the brothers spoke of what had happened all those years ago, instead they pushed the mass of the thoughts and fears concerning the incident into the back of their minds, where they would never have to reflect on it again. Sesshoumaru had done all that but had also added one extra element to the heap, an element which he considered would trigger the release of this mass…his emotions. Sodeep had he pushed them in, he had forgotten how to laugh, how to cry, how to love…how to _feel_.

Maybe that was why he found it difficult to tolerate his younger brother, Inuyasha displayed almost every possible emotion, while Sesshoumaru would do everything in his power to control his own. But it was okay, who needed to feel anyway? He had everything he wanted, an apartment, a good education, a part-time job on the weekends, and apart from the fact that he had to share all this with Inuyasha…what else could he possibly require?

Sesshomaru stopped in front of the section that displayed the fibre tip pens. Ignoring Inuyasha's whines coming from outside, he picked out his usual purchase, which was the black 0.5 point, he looked around for some where to test it on. He spotted a piece of scrap paper that had been scribbled on already, it said,

'_I like to draw_', followed by a silly picture of a smiley face with big, googly eyes. Sesshoumaru arched an eyebrow, looked around him and bent down to scribble beneath it, '_So do I_'. He straightened and placed the lid back on the pen.

He left the shop holding a small bag in which he carried the 0.5 point pen and joining his grumpy younger brother, headed towards the burger joint.

Ooo

Nanae sighed impatiently and drummed her fingers upon the counter. Makis' head bounced to the rhythm of the song as she held the headphones to her ears, grinning at the look of boredom on her friend's face. Many young boys looked Makis up and down approvingly, she was a pretty girl. She giggled and winked at them.

Nanae sighed again, with Makis, this always happened. It was always: the two of them and a bunch of boys and all them wanted to be the one to date Makis. Nanae supposed she would have to get used to this and she did, but she couldn't help feeling a tiny pang of longing…or was it jealousy?

_Mental sigh! I look like a loner standing here by myself. Why can't those guys just leave her to buy the CD so we can leave! Or maybe they can do me a favour and buy it for her! Jeez, she's taking ages._ _I didn't take _that_ long, did I? I don't deserve to wait this long just because I stopped for five minutes_ _to look at a couple of pens! _Nanae thought crossly. She glanced at her watch. _What? Half an hour? I've been standing here for half an hour? We need to get home!_

"Makis! Just buy the CD already!" Nanae whined. Makis sighed and removed the headphones. She picked out the CD from the rack and moved to the checkout to pay for it, waving at a group of boys in the process. Makis waited for her change and then left the shop with Nanae.

"Finally!" Nanae breathed. Makis grinned. "I could have taken longer you know."

Nanae looked at her with an annoyed expression and strode towards the exit of the shopping centre.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Makis called out pleadingly. She joined Nanae on the pavement as she hailed a taxi and when one stopped they both got in with their shopping bags and gave the taxi driver their address. As the taxi drove along, it passed the Tokyo Kokusai High School, the one they would be entering in less than a week.

The cool April air blew in through the open passenger window, bringing in with it the fresh, sweet smell of the cherry blossoms now in bloom. Nanae breathed in happily and gazed at the pretty little street where their apartment block was situated.

The taxi slowed and the two girls stepped out, making sure they had all that they bought with them, Makis paid the driver and Nanae pulled out her keys. They climbed up the flight of stairs leading to their apartment and stopped in front of their door for a moment to catch their breath. Nanae put the key in the lock and opened the door and the girls entered, dropping their bags next to the brown, leather sofa and plopping down on it themselves.

The apartment was small and sparsely furnished but it had a reasonably pleasant feel to it. The sofa was large and comfortable and opposite stood the 21 inch T.V with a DVD player on a shelf beneath it. Behind the sofa was the kitchen, small but with enough room to be able to cook a proper meal in. To the right of the kitchen stood a table large enough for two people to sit at and further along, a dark, wood bookcase was positioned. The first shelf held books containing information of the history of art, the Renaissance, Japanese art etc., this was Nanae's section. The second shelf held books about the mysteries of the universe, the birth of stars, etc., this was Makis' section. The other shelves below were for papers and other rubbish.

Further down was a narrow corridor leading to the girls' rooms. The room on the left belonged to Nanae and it was normal…ish. There were posters on the walls and a few framed watercolours that she painted herself. Her bed was against the wall, covered with a pale blue duvet and on her pillow laid a number of cuddly toys. There was a small window with pale blue curtains and opposite stood her desk, cluttered with pens, pencils, brushes and other artistic implements along with sheets of cartridge paper and sketchbooks. She liked to sit at her desk to work because she always drew her inspiration from the picturesque view of the cherry trees lining the quiet and tranquil street.

The bedroom on the right was Makis' and it was an unusually decorated one. Darkish blue walls and a black ceiling dotted with luminous, glow in the dark stars, there were posters of space shuttles, NASA, and pictures of Mars taken by satellite. Makis had always said that her life long dream was to become an astronaut and she had every intention of making it come true.

The two girls relaxed on the sofa for a while before getting started on dinner. They ate at 7pm and tonight it was Nanae's turn to wash the dishes, while Makis popped out to the DVD store to rent a film that they had been dying to see. When Makis returned, both girls changed into their comfy pyjamas, grabbed some snacks and sat down to watch the movie until late, and then they finally went to bed.

They were both worn out. They had been in an interview with the principal of Kokusai High School early in the morning, accompanied by Nanae's uncle. Most young people needed to sit an entrance examination before getting in but since Nanae's uncle had contacts in the ministry of education; it wasn't difficult for the girls to get accepted, without having to sit the tests. They had filled in a couple of forms and Makis and Nanae left to go to the shopping centre and the uncle to his bureau situated in the centre of Tokyo. The girls had bought notebooks, pens, paper, and all the necessary materials required for this new school before finding the time to have a good wander around all the other shops. The day had been exhausting, but in some way fulfilling for they were about to start in a new school, meet new people in a new city…It was a whole different life…and a whole different destiny…

A/N: I dunno about this chapter, please let me know what you think though! And remember, I have the bats at my command! MUAHAHAHAHAHAAAA! Yeah.


	3. Thoughts

Thank you for your reviews; **animefan3214**, **Lady Kagewaki**, **Viperthe strange** (:roars with laughter: I sooo love your reviews! Thanks for the compliments and I'll send my army of kyuuketsuki bats into combat as reinforcements if you like.) This next chapter is basically to get to know the characters' personalities, like an in-depth profile.

Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, I wouldn't be here writing fanfics. I would be swimming in all my money and washing my hair in expensive champagne.

**Chapter 3: Thoughts**

Sesshoumaru pulled up in front of the apartment building. It was late at night, almost eleven thirty and all because Sesshoumaru had spent way too much time at the police station, but a job was a job and pay was pay even if it meant putting up with Inuyasha's annoyingness. He leaned to one side to place his foot on the ground and took his key out of the ignition with a gloved hand then lifted the mirror tinted visor and turned to Inuyasha who seemed to have fallen asleep against his back. Sesshoumaru rapped loudly on Inuyasha's helmet causing the boy to jump up in surprise, and fall unceremoniously onto his arse. Inuyasha removed his helmet and scrambled to his feet yelling obscenities at his older brother, who in turn, did nothing but lower the visor over his eyes.

"Inuyasha, shut up, and wait in front of the door. I'm going to park the bike." Sesshoumaru said in a bored tone and began to push himself and the motorcycle with his feet along the cement towards the basement of the apartment block, where all the residents kept their means of transport.

Inuyasha stared after him furiously, grumbling and running a hand through his unruly mane of silver hair. He stomped in the direction of the stairwell and made his way up it, two steps at a time and as he jumped each one he cursed his control freak of a brother and swore to get him back. When he reached his floor he yawned loudly. He would get him back tomorrow, when he wasn't so sleepy. He plodded tiredly along the corridor and when he reached his door he slumped himself against it and waited.

In the basement, Sesshoumaru removed his black helmet and took off his leather gloves to run a hand through his windswept hair. He swung a leg over the bike and stood up carefully checking for scrapes and scratches all the while and once satisfied to see that there were none, he got hold of the weather proof plastic covering he kept nearby and threw it over the motorcycle. He could never be too careful; after all, his bike was a new model, the black Suzuki SV1000, . He never let Inuyasha even _breathe_ on it let alone ride it. Oh no. No one touched the bike but Sesshoumaru and if someone other than him laid so much as a finger on it they would have to face his unforgiving wrath, which wasn't pretty and Inuyasha of all people would know that. However, since the bike was their only form of transport, it was Sesshoumaru's duty to be the caring and sharing elder brother.

Sesshoumaru tucked the helmet under his arm and walked out of the basement, turning once to check on the bike, just to see if it was still there. He climbed the stairs, unzipping his leather jacket and taking the apartment keys from his pocket along with the small white bag that held the 0.5 point pen. He found Inuyasha dozing off with his face against the door and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He glanced at his watch and then placed the key in the lock, not before shoving Inuyasha out of the way first.

"Wha? Hey! You bas-" Inuyasha began to yell as he got up from the floor once again. Sesshoumaru shot him a glare that was capable of even silencing a pride of roaring lions. Inuyasha resorted to staring him out. Sesshoumaru turned the knob and opened the door, and Inuyasha was just about to push past him when his brother threw out an arm to block the doorway.

"Ahem, I believe it is age _and_ beauty before bakas, Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru remarked and entered the apartment first, leaving a furious hanyou in his wake. _Tomorrow, _Inuyasha thought darkly, _tomorrow I will get him and I will get him good._

Sesshoumaru dropped the keys onto the counter and looked up at the wall clock. It was already midnight. Inuyasha stormed past and went into his mess of a room, slamming the door shut after entering. Sesshoumaru glared at the accusing door as he heard a high pitched squeal from the smallest room, at the far end of the apartment. A tiny figure scampered up to him and threw itself at his legs, hugging them tightly. Sesshoumaru sighed; the baka was going to pay for waking her up. He could see it now, Inuyasha would have to take her to school, fix her lunch, bathe her, tuck her in and read her stories for at least a week and let's see how he likes it. With Sesshoumaru, there was no mercy involved when it came to handing out punishments, and punishments they were.

"Rin, you should be in bed, it's late."

Rin looked up at him admiringly and nodded, a sweet smile planted on her face and not once did she consider letting go of his legs.

"Can Sesshoumaru-sama tuck Rin in bed?" She asked hopefully.

"I will if you let go of me." Sesshoumaru replied. Rin released hold of his legs immediately and scurried off to her bedroom.

Sesshoumaru took off his jacket and hung it up. He took his fibre tip pen out of its bag, placed it in his back pocket and made his way towards the little girl's bedroom.

_(Flashback)_

_It was Saturday and he was needed down at the police station. Inuyasha was at a friend's house playing videogames and would be staying there for the night and the rest of the next day which meant a whole weekend to himself for Sesshoumaru. He was walking today like he always did even though he had the money to buy a mean of transport. He had popped into Suzuki motors a few days ago to check out their newest model, but he hadn't decided whether to give it a test drive yet. He would have to think about it later. _

_He took a short cut through one of the busy streets of Tokyo and soon regretted it, seeing it filled with humans and their offspring. He couldn't stand their stench even though he had been taught to get used to it. His father was always defending humans and had proved his point by marrying one and producing the mistake otherwise known as Inuyasha, a mistake that would haunt Sesshoumaru for the rest of his days. He couldn't deny that he held great respect for his father but couldn't understand why this great demon felt it his duty to protect those humans, who, in Sesshoumaru's opinion, were creatures not worth protecting, by joining them, forming part of their police force and then eventually becoming the head of the department. Sesshoumaru considered himself a traitor to demon kind by willing to cooperate with the humans he detested so much and helping them catch their petty criminals, but in the end, he was getting paid for it and the money was greatly put to use._

_He growled menacingly as a couple of giggling children crossed his path. They looked up at him nervously and they soon ran off to play elsewhere. He hated the sound of children's laughter, mainly because he had long since forgotten how to laugh and the sound caused carefully hidden memories to spring up into his head._

_He crossed the busy road and began to walk up the steps that led to the entrance of the police station but stopped. He sniffed the air delicately and caught a whiff of a scent that was all too familiar for him. The scent of a child's fear. He forced the painful memories to the back of his mind and turned fully to scan the street that buzzed with activity. That was when he saw her._

_She was being chased by a huge, brown dog, which was driven by hunger and madness caused by one too many fleabites. Sesshoumaru could smell the cold sweat dripping down the side of the child's filthy little face and the tears of fright streaming from her wide brown eyes. The beast drooled as he ran, nearing himself to his prey and beginning to growl viciously, causing passers by to throw themselves from the path of the ferocious animal, not giving any thought to the poor little girl trying desperately to escape. She ran out into the road, blinded by tears and sweat, not seeing the delivery truck zoom towards her. It would have been too late if Sesshoumaru hadn't darted over, grabbed her, and sped back to lay her safely onto the sidewalk. There was a squeal of breaks, a thump and a feeble howl as the wretched dog suffered the would have been fate of the little girl that Sesshoumaru now held in his arms. _

_Sesshoumaru looked down at her in shock, of his own actions no less. He snapped out of it and got to his feet as soon as she was able to stand up, he turned away from her and began walking towards the steps. Why had he just done that? It was as if the scent of her fear had awoken a type of primal instinct deep inside of him and when the feeling raged through his veins, he was compelled to save the child. But why her? A human child she was, and nothing to him, a demon. He shook himself mentally and tried to regain control of the thoughts whirling around inside of his head as he pushed through the swinging doors of the Tokyo police station._

_The middle aged cop at the desk greeted him with a nod and Sesshoumaru walked up to him to receive his instructions for the day._

"_Running late today aren't we?" Said the cop sternly, pointing at his watch. Sesshoumaru stared at him impassively._

"_Must you state the obvious officer?" Sesshoumaru replied. The said officer raised an eyebrow at the young demon but said nothing. He pointed to the waiting room on his right. He then grinned._

"_Well since everything is obvious to you, smart ass, may I suggest doing the job you so obviously know how to do then?" _

_Sesshoumaru would have broken his neck for that last comment but he held too much respect for his father's name and with that came the respect for the people he had worked with as head of the department. After successfully controlling his anger, Sesshoumaru got his things from a drawer in the front desk, and strolled casually into the police waiting room, plopping into a chair to wait for when he would be needed, and at the same time turning to glower at the offensive cop at the desk. He stared down at his pad of cartridge paper._

"_Excuse me, little girl, but you're not allowed in there!" barked the officer. Sesshoumaru looked up at the sound of that irritating voice and found the same little girl from before, standing right in front of him, her eyes wide with awe. Sesshoumaru gave her a cold stare but she was unfazed and continued to gaze at him. _

"_What is it girl?" He muttered. The girl didn't speak, she just carried on gawping. Sesshoumaru was beginning to get annoyed._

"_Oi, Sesshoumaru! You know this kid?" The officer called out from his desk. Sesshoumaru shook his head, seemingly irritated. He faced the girl again, who was looking up at him in wonder and he couldn't understand why. He only saved her life that was all; didn't she have family to go to?_

"_What do you want?" he tried asking. When she didn't reply he sighed mentally, got up and was about to walk away when he found he couldn't move. He looked down and there she was, hugging the life out of his legs. He stood awkwardly, not knowing whether to leave her there or kill her. He looked around him and noticed he was being stared at, of course, he was a demon being cuddled by a human child and that was worth staring at. Sesshoumaru let out a low growl and tried to prise her small hands off from around his knees._

"_Arigatou, youkai-sama." The child whispered. Sesshoumaru's mouth almost dropped open and he let go of her hands. His eyes widened slightly. Had this human girl just thanked him? And she wasn't even threatened into doing so? The police officer at the desk was watching them curiously._

_A tear ran down the girl's cheek. Sesshoumaru felt something stir in his stomach. Has this child been so deprived of affection? Well she was foolish to expect it from this demon. Or was she?_

_Sesshoumaru straightened. He stepped out of the girl's arms and made his way over to the front desk, leaving her sitting in the middle of the floor. She began to sob._

"_Sesshoumaru." He said. The girl looked round at him with tearful eyes; she cocked her head to one side in confusion._

"_My name is not Youkai-sama. It's Sesshoumaru." He declared. He turned to talk to the officer. He heard a squeal and a pattering of feet and his legs were once again being squeezed by the little girl._

"_Do you have any idea who this child is?" Sesshoumaru asked evenly. The officer shook his head and told him;_

"_We only have files on criminals, not homeless kids." _

_Sesshoumaru's brow creased in thought. The old cop looked at him intently._

"_Why?" the officer asked curiously. Sesshoumaru stared down at the girl._

"_Girl, do you have family?" He asked in what seem to be an uninterested tone and she shook her head. _

"_Where do you live?"_

_She pointed to the street. Sesshoumaru lifted his head and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe he was going to do this. He clenched his fists and prepared himself for the words about to spill from his mouth._

"_It won't matter if I…took her back with me?" He asked through gritted teeth. The cop raised his eyebrows in surprise. _

"_Well?" Sesshoumaru snapped. The old cop blinked a bit and then shook his head. He then smiled, causing the skin on his face to wrinkle slightly._

"_Go ahead." He told the young demon. _

"_Hear that child? You're going home with me." Sesshoumaru told her firmly. He didn't know how anyone could get so happy after hearing those words, but this little girl was._

_(End flashback)_

Sesshoumaru remembered that day as if it were yesterday, even though it happened a couple of months ago. It had taken Inuyasha a while to get used to having a kid around the house and keep his mouth under control, but Sesshoumaru was always there to knock him back into place.

Although he had said he was called Sesshoumaru, Rin had decided to add the 'sama' to the end of his name, as a sign of respect for the demon who had saved her life and the name stuck. Inuyasha constantly mocked him about this, calling him the 'Great Lord' Sesshoumaru, but Rin always tackled Inuyasha to the ground and pummelled him with her tiny fists and shrieked at him to never disrespect the said 'Lord'. This was good comic relief on a boring day.

He entered Rin's room and found her in her bed with the sheets around her ankles. His lip quirked up slightly as he sat down on the edge of her bed. He tucked the covers around her chin and patted her on the head. She closed her eyes. He got up and turned off the light, leaving the one in the hall turned on.

"G'night, Sesshoumaru-sama." Rin mumbled sleepily. Sesshoumaru looked back for a moment, and left her room. He went to his bedroom and turned on the light. He didn't need as much sleep as humans did, and he was able to go five days straight without resting his eyes, but he slept all the same to refresh himself and to be alert the next day.

He sat down at his desk and switched on the lamp. He opened up his sketchpad and picked up a pencil that lay on the desktop. As soon as he put the pencil on paper he was filled with inspiration, this was the only way he could deal with all his emotions and conflicting thoughts, this was the only outlet he had for his feelings without anyone knowing. It was as if his emotions were the pencil lines, they were the expression of everything he was feeling at that moment. Rin had induced these some of these sentiments in him. He had often thought of giving her to the social services but he never could bring himself to do it. She was a small yet bright ray of sunshine that illuminated his gloomy days and he felt nothing but a fatherly instinct to keep her safe and in his life.

He put his pencil down and looked at the finished drawing and the portrait of the sweet little girl stared back at him. He opened a drawer in his desk and placed the piece of work inside, along with the others. It was a good likeness of Rin. That was why he worked in the police department, even if it was only during the weekends. He was the one witnesses of crimes went to in order for them to describe the culprit's facial features to him and he would put them down on paper. After he was finished he would scan the drawing into the computer and access all criminal files to see if there was a match. This was what he was being paid good money for. Being an artist.

Sesshoumaru undressed and got into bed. He stared up at the ceiling and thought about all he had. He was fortunate, he knew that, but he couldn't help taking it for granted. He was going to start his last year of highschool in a week, he had a good chance of entering one of the best art colleges in Tokyo, he lived in a spacious apartment, he had enough money, little Rin was always around…

Sesshoumaru frowned slightly as he turned to his side. Why did he feel there was something missing?

OooOooO

Nanae could see the faint morning light through her eyelids. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times. She turned her head to look at her clock-radio and seeing that it was five in the morning, she yawned and stretched, arching her back and making a noise similar to that of a mewing cat. She sat up and proceeded to untangle herself from her duvet, tossing aside a number of cuddly toys that were littered around her bed. She sat on the edge of the bed and let out another yawn, rubbing her eyes at the same time, then stood up to pull back the pale blue curtains. A weak pink glow highlighted her room as Nanae walked sleepily to her wardrobe, taking out her hooded sweater and tracksuit bottoms. She pulled her clothes on, yawning occasionally, and placed her feet in a pair of running shoes and when she was done, she held up her long black hair into a sloppy ponytail.

Making sure she hadn't woken Makis, who wasn't too fond of early mornings, Nanae made her way to the small kitchen and grabbed a breakfast bar, along with a bottle of mineral water then grabbed her keys and left the apartment. She leapt down the stairs and began to stretch each and every one of her limbs when she got to the street. She jumped up and down on the spot for a while as she munched her breakfast bar and then started to walk briskly in order to warm up her stiff muscles.

As she walked she was met by the cool morning breeze that rustled the leaves which made it seem as though they were whispering to her. Nanae inhaled deeply and exhaled through her mouth, her pace quickened and soon the walk turned into a light jog through the solitary street. The sun was just starting to rise, its oranges and yellows contrasting the pale pinks and blues of the morning sky. Nanae loved these hours of the day; it was now when she would find precious moments of thinking time that sometimes led to inspiration for her artistic mind.

She noticed another fellow early riser coming from the opposite direction and as she paced on she found that they were also out for a morning jog. The jogger seemed to be a cat demon, for she had pointed ears hidden in her reddish hair and light pink eyes with slits for pupils. Nanae smiled politely as she passed.

"Good morning." She said between breaths. The cat demon glared at her and stuck her chin up, intent on ignoring her and jogged past without saying a word.

_Fine then._ Nanae thought angrily. _Stupid demons, think they're above everyone else, think they can't even look at humans without getting some kind of disease or something. Well screw them, I'm not gonna worry about it, I'll just treat them in the same way, see how they like it._

She sighed. No matter how hard she tried being mean, she could never go through with it. She was born unnaturally considerate. If there was a long queue of people waiting to get free doughnuts, she was the kind of person to let everyone push in front and would end up being left with nothing. If someone asked to borrow something, she would gladly lend it and on rare occasions were the things borrowed ever returned to her.

And when it came to the way of treating other people, she was incapable of shouting out orders or having people fear her. She spoke to people politely and respectfully but most times these people didn't treat her in the same manner. She was too caring for her own good and many took advantage of that.

However, when pissed off she could have one hell of a mood. She was blessed with high tolerance and cursed with a fiery temper that would even impress the devil, if provoked of course. It took a lot to get her angry but not so much to get her miserable, she was an extremely sensitive person given what she went through when her mother died. Nevertheless, she was a trusting person and in her old school, many people found comfort in talking to her and she was always so supportive. It was strange how she and Makis were friends, they were completely different to one another, but in this case some differences became unities. Makis was energetic, spontaneous, bursting with life and a little teasing. Nanae, on the other hand, was composed, thoughtful, artistic and careful. But they were the best of friends.

Nanae couldn't understand why most demons were so uncaring. With not many of them around, wouldn't it actually help if they acted nicely sometimes? Maybe then they would be able to get along with humans and not be so feared by society. Like the demon _yakudza_, who were heard to be extremely ruthless.

Nanae shivered and slowed down to catch her breath. She stopped right in front of the Tokyo Kokusai high school and took a big gulp of water from her bottle. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve and breathed deeply. She had never studied with demons before, since she had only been in an all human school back home in Osaka, but Kokusai high school taught demon and human students, the principal being one himself. Nanae tried to recall his name from the interview she and Makis had with him and her uncle. _I think it was Toto-something. He mentioned it only once…Toto…Totu…Tato…bah! I'll remember it later. Didn't he say he was a retired cop? Or was it soldier? Damn my uncooperative memory!_

Nanae stared at the school's entrance. Principal Toto-something revealed that the school would be celebrating it's 50th birthday sometime in November but Nanae hadn't really paid attention to the rest, the parts concerning the organization of the event and so on. Nanae continued gazing at the entrance, she would be walking through those doors soon with Makis and she wondered what her last year of school would bring and most importantly, if it was going to be a good one.

_Yakudza: Mafia_

A/N: Phew! Glad that's over. I know this chapter is superfrajilisticexpialidociously boring, but it is kind of important to know a bit about the characters before continuing with the rest of the story. You can all wake up now. Oh, I recommend looking at pictures of the Suzuki SV1000 on the internet, preferably on the Suzuki page, the bike is extremely cool. Don't forget to read and review! (kyuuketsuki-san picks up coffee mug and upon seeing it is empty smashes it against the wall. "I need more caffeine damnit! How am I supposed to make people stay awake with my chapters if I can't stay awake myself? Van! Pyre! Get me some more coffee you useless bats!")


	4. Crime and Punishment

Sorry about the slow update, I admit I've rather neglected this story. Plus my computer screen has gone bright purple because of the faulty bulb in the monitor, so I'm finding it extremely difficult to stop my eyes watering. Thank you **Lady Kagewaki**, **Viperthe strange**, **animefan3214**, and** umineko san **for your reviews!

Disclaimer: Yes! Wait….No.

**Chapter 4: Crime and Punishment**

Inuyasha tiptoed quietly into Sesshoumaru's room early that morning; in his hands he held a large plastic bucket, full to the brim with ice cold water. He grinned mischievously as he crept closer to the figure underneath the bed sheets. He couldn't wait to see the look on his brother's face when he found himself drenched with freezing cold water, he suppressed a laugh at the very thought. Inuyasha neared himself to the bed with great care and placed his hand underneath the bucket to tip it over the sleeping demon's head.

"Don't even think about it."

Inuyasha yelped and lost his grip on the bucket causing it to crash down onto the carpet covered floor, and the icy water spilt everywhere, mainly on top of Inuyasha's bare feet. Inuyasha hopped on the spot in an attempt to warm his feet up but only made it worse by slipping on the wet carpet and landing on his backside.

Sesshoumaru emerged from his den of bed covers and stared down at the mess that Inuyasha had made of his perfect carpet.

"You are going to clean that." He growled. Inuyasha grimaced and slowly got to his feet, rubbing the sore spot of his body on which he had landed.

"How the hell did you know I was gonna do that?" Inuyasha asked irritably. Sesshoumaru merely glanced at him as he sat on the edge of his bed.

"I don't need to tell you anything." He replied. Inuyasha was a baka if he thought he could play pranks on a demon like Sesshoumaru. A real baka. Sesshoumaru had anticipated this kind of action the previous night and had been awake for hours to humour his idiotic little brother. And Inuyasha's cackles along with the sound of running water from the tap in the kitchen only confirmed Sesshoumaru's suspicions.

Just then a door slammed and little feet were heard scampering along the narrow corridor accompanied by the sound of a child's giggling. Suddenly Rin entered Sesshoumaru's room, jumped over the wet area on the carpet and dived into his bed. She squealed happily as she bounced around and immediately threw herself at Sesshoumaru causing him to fall back with a grunt into his pillows on impact. Rin laughed happily as Sesshoumaru lifted her effortlessly off his chest.

"G'morning, Sesshoumaru-sama!" She cried. Sesshoumaru nodded in reply and straightened himself into a sitting position and as soon as he did he caught sight of Inuyasha's face and the smirk he had plastered over it. Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed dangerously and thought of a way to punish his half brother for both the foolish prank he tried to play and for the way he was silently making fun of the situation with Rin.

"Rin, go and get ready. Inuyasha's going to take you to school today."

The expression was instantly wiped off the hanyou's face. "Wha-?"

"Yay!" Rin squealed and dashed out of Sesshoumaru's room. She was soon heard to be getting dressed and stuffing things into her small pack.

Inuyasha was thrown an old rag by Sesshoumaru. "Get cleaning."

The rag hit Inuyasha in the face. "What the hell? I ain't cleanin' no damn…" But after spotting the fierce I'm-in-no-mood-for-shit look on his big brother's face, he hastily dropped to his knees and began scrubbing the spot of wet carpet. He grumbled to himself as he worked.

"Why the hell do I have ta take the brat to the park! She's your kid!…kinda.!" Inuyasha growled. Sesshoumaru pulled off his nightshirt and stood up from the bed, getting to his closet to pick out his clothes.

"It's her first day of school today and it seems you've done more than enough to earn this job." He said, without turning to look at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha stopped scrubbing and glowered. Sesshoumaru shut the closet door and covered his bare chest with a pale blue shirt and did up the buttons. He stared back at Inuyasha and said pointedly,

"That carpet will not clean itself."

Inuyasha resumed his scrubbing and mumbling. Rin had already skipped to the kitchen and was making herself some toast. She hummed a little tune as she spread jam on with a knife.

Sesshoumaru finished getting dressed and proceeded to explain the rules. He paced the room as he said them with his hands clasped behind his back giving the impression of a superior handing out instructions to an employee. Inuyasha listened begrudgingly.

"…You are to stay by her side at all times, if any child mocks her you shall defend her, the same goes to parents but keep in mind that they are _not_ to be clawed to death. No foul language, no violent behaviour and…ah, yes," Sesshoumaru's voice lowered an octave, "If I find any sign that Rin has been hurt, I will have your head for it."

Inuyasha knew that his brother wouldn't stoop so low as to actually kill him but such was the threat that lingered in the air, Inuyasha found himself reluctantly agreeing to Sesshoumaru's demands, he scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Whatever."

Sesshoumaru walked towards the door, sidestepping the area of carpet and Inuyasha, who was squatting beside the plastic bucket. He was about to leave the room but he paused for a moment and turned to his hanyou brother.

"Oh, and one more thing-"

"There's more?" Inuyasha said incredulously. Sesshoumaru nodded at a wet stain on the carpet, "You missed a spot."

Inuyasha gasped loudly, and Sesshoumaru knew that he had successfully pissed off his brother for the morning; he turned and walked out the door. Inuyasha threw down his rag as he scrambled to his feet, he launched himself at Sesshoumaru and he would have made it too if the door hadn't have been slammed in his face.

Sesshoumaru smirked as he heard a thump and an 'Ow, my freakin' nose!' as he made his way to the kitchen.

Rin finished her breakfast and was sitting in the comfy sofa, her legs swinging over the edge because she was too small to reach the floor. Beside her sat a small, pink rucksack containing all the materials she would need for her first day of school. Sesshoumaru entered the kitchen and opened the fridge. He took out a small, plastic container that held Rin's lunch and he went to put it in her pack. Rin caught a whiff of what it was and smiled broadly. Sesshoumaru began to check the mail and Inuyasha stumbled into the living room, hitching up his red cargo pants and straightening the cap he wore on his head.

"Ready?" Inuyasha said gruffly. Rin shot off the sofa with her rucksack and was at his side.

"YES!" She cried excitedly. Inuyasha mumbled to himself as he left the apartment, catching a glimpse of the smirk on Sesshoumaru's face and then looking down at Rin who was currently running around him time and time again.

"Could ya stop that already?" Inuyasha growled. Rin stopped and went back at his side again, smiling sweetly at him.

"We're going to have so much fun, Inu-chan!" She said. Inuyasha stared at her.

"Whaddya mean we're gonna have fun? I just gotta drop ya off at yer school." He said.

Rin's eyes widened and she shook her head. "no, Inu-chan, all the parents have to be with their kids until midday! You going to stay and play with me!" Rin said happily. Inuyasha's eye began to twitch.

_That bastard Sesshoumaru didn't mention that! I'm gonna MURDER him! Yes I will! I'm gonna grab him by his pretty hair and stuff that stupid pretty face of his down the crap hole! Yeah! And then I'll-_

"Inu-chan? Why has your face gone all red?" Rin's voice snapped him back from his daydream.

"I…er…uh, I'm just so…happy to be able ta spend the day with ya." He said through gritted teeth.

They arrived at Rin's school and began to cross the playground, Rin leading the way because Inuyasha obviously didn't know where to go. It was filling up with children and their parents, some of them turning to stare at Inuyasha, wondering how such a sweet girl ended up in his care. Inuyasha pulled down his cap self consciously and began to think how Sesshoumaru must have dealt with all this. Of course, they were all probably too scared stiff of him for him to actually bother. Rin was scampering ahead, occasionally waving to her friends and pulling Inuyasha along by his arm.

A football appeared from nowhere and hit Rin's arm, knocking her down to the ground. Inuyasha gasped and ran over to see if she was okay, Rin sat up and looked at him with tearful eyes, her bottom lip quivering. Inuyasha grabbed at his hair and growled in anguish.

"Oh man, Rin…c'mon don't cry. Ah jeez…okay, lemme see yer arm." Inuyasha said. Rin held out her small arm and Inuyasha inspected the place where a bruise was now forming. Rin began to whimper.

Inuyasha made flapping gestures to try and shush her, but she continued with added sniffing.

"Rin, c'mon man! Ah crap, I'm gonna DIE!" he said despairingly. He ran a claw through his hair, forgetting that his cap was on his head, causing it to fall off the top of his head, exposing his dog ears for all to see. Rin caught sight of them and immediately stopped whimpering and laughed tearfully. Inuyasha's ears were pressed down to his head, a sign that he was miserable or nervous. Inuyasha sighed with relief and began to grin, wiggling his ears and making Rin squeal with laughter.

"Hey mister dog man, did my ball pass this way?"

Inuyasha ceased grinning instantly and spotted a small, black haired boy sanding behind him. He growled.

"It sure did, and it hit this girl!" He yelled, pointing at Rin. The little boy gulped.

"I'm sorry, mister, I didn't mean to hit her!" He squeaked, noticing the sharp claws and fangs of this funny looking dog man. He took a step back. Inuyasha picked up his cap and placed it on top of his head after seeing the boy stare at his ears.

"You better be more careful! My life is at stake here, man!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Yes sir! I promise I won't ever play soccer again!" The boy cried.

"Souta, what's going on here?"

Both Inuyasha and the boy turned in the direction of the voice. A girl was stomping over; she had chocolate brown eyes, raven black hair and a furious expression.

"Nothing sis!" Souta said, nervously looking at Inuyasha. The girl scowled.

"And just why were you yelling at my little brother?" She asked angrily.

"He hit that girl with his football! You should learn to control yer siblin's!" Inuyasha shouted.

"It seems obvious that you weren't looking after that girl very well, otherwise she wouldn't have gotten hurt!" She shot back.

"What? Your brother knocks over the girl with _his_ football an' it's _my _fault?" he cried incredulously.

"It looks that way to me!" She replied. Inuyasha's mouth opened and closed. He was so angry that his vocal chords refused to function.

"Now if you'll just apologise to my brother for scaring the life out of him, and to me for speaking so rudely, we'll be off." She said, placing her hands on her hips. Inuyasha spluttered with rage.

"APOLOGISE? WHAT THE HELL?" he gestured at Rin, who had by this time picked herself off from the floor, "I…AM…GOING…TO…DIE! MY BROTHER WILL REMOVE MY HEAD FROM MY SHOULDERS…VERY SLOWLY…IF HE FINDS HIS WARD HAS BEEN INJURED!" He screamed.

The girl merely stared at him and stuck her nose in the air. "And what's that got to do with me?"

Inuyasha threw up his hands in frustration, "GAAAAH!"

The girl flounced off, pulling her brother along with her and leaving Inuyasha yelling his protests.

"Hey wench! We ain't finished yet!" He cried, but she didn't seem to hear him. He tried to gain control of his breathing and looked at Rin.

"Let's go inside shall we?" Inuyasha said in a tone that was shaking with anger. Rin smiled and grabbed her rucksack from the floor and took his hand.

Ooo

Nanae got back to her apartment just as Makis was getting up and they greeted each other as they passed, Nanae to the bathroom and Makis to the kitchen.

Nanae grabbed a towel and let the warm water run from the tap in the bath. _We need to get a shower installed, _she thought. She heard the tinkle of cups in the kitchen where Makis was making coffee. Makis was never one for healthy eating and fitness regimes, she preferred coffee and doughnuts while Nanae chose fresh fruit and mineral water yet Makis never seemed to gain an ounce of weight.

Nanae poured in a little lavender scented bubble bath and stirred the water around with her hand to check its temperature. She undressed and slid into the bath, sighing contently as the warmth eased her aching muscles. She shouldn't have pushed herself too hard today; she jogged for almost a mile before realising what time it was. Her legs were sore when she finally got back to the apartment and had decided on a nice hot bath to soothe her strained muscles. She didn't regret her decision. She dipped her head under the water and resurfaced, running her fingers through her hair to get the tangles out. She lay back and relaxed for a while; her thoughts lingering on a dream she'd had the night before. It was a dream that had repeated itself in her sleep many times and she couldn't understand why, maybe it was stress, or nerves but it still confused her. Nanae was beginning to doze off when the clatter of dishes being washed in the sink brought her back to her senses. She lifted an arm out of the water and reached for her towel and she slowly got out of the bath. She pulled out the plug and watched the frothy water swirl round and round before disappearing down the plug hole with a final gurgle. She wrapped the towel around her body, grabbed her jogging clothes and went to her bedroom. Makis was watching TV in the sitting room with the volume turned down low because it was still too early for the neighbours.

Nanae closed the door of her bedroom and stared at herself in the full length mirror that hung behind it. She removed her towel and began to scrutinise herself. She was slim and toned due to all the morning jogs but she was also fully formed. She didn't know if she was pretty, she had never been told. She only liked her grey-blue eyes because she believed they held everything she had ever felt in her whole life. She stared at her own body. She often felt jealous of Makis' figure, Makis had the typical Barbie doll body and even though Nanae was curvy, it was just that Makis was curvi_er_. Nanae tended to be modest and discreet about her body, always wearing casual clothes that didn't reveal any part of her, while Makis seemed to show off almost every _pore_. Slinky and sexy were the words to best describe Makis' wardrobe and she had tried to persuade Nanae to buy some clothes for a 'fun night out' and had succeeded, but Nanae refused to go anywhere with those clothes. She had always preferred the quiet night in with a good book or a decent movie and Makis often left the apartment to go and have a wild time in a club recommended by boys she'd met in a coffee shop. It was always like that and Nanae had gotten used to it already.

Nanae dressed and went to join Makis in the sitting room.

"Nanae, when are you gonna call the repair guy for the washing machine? My pile of clothes is growing." Makis said. Nanae slapped her forehead.

"Damn! I forgot. Ah, I'll have to phone later then." She paused. "Whose turn is it to go to the Laundromat?"

Makis gazed at her sympathetically. "Yours, I'm afraid"

Nanae groaned and let her head fall back upon the sofa. "Damnit. I'll go tomorrow."

Makis suddenly sat up straight and tapped Nanae on the shoulder. "Hey, I'll tell you what! Why don't we have a girl's day out! You know, have lunch at Wacdonalds, and go for a good wander around the shops? Eh?" she said excitedly. Nanae shrugged and Makis squealed happily.

"I'm gonna go and get changed!" she said and she dashed off to her room. Nanae waited patiently for her friend. She wondered how this day would turn out, would she come back to the apartment alone again or will she have someone for company? She sighed.

"Ready! Let's go!"

Nanae trudged after Makis, not feeling as entirely happy as she was supposed to be.

Ooo

The phone rang back at Sesshoumaru's apartment. As he went to answer it he caught a glimpse of the looming dark clouds overhead and he smirked, knowing exactly where Inuyasha would be if it were to rain. He picked up the black cordless phone.

"Sesshoumaru." He said. It was better than saying 'hello'.

"Hello, Sesshoumaru…it's me." purred a female voice on the other line. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and suppressed a sigh.

"Emi. What is it now?"

"Aw, must you speak to your girlfriend in that manner? I only wanted to know what you were doing." She said in a mock hurt tone.

"And now you know."

"Silly, you haven't told me what you were doing." She said. This time Sesshoumaru did sigh.

"What is it you want Emi?" he demanded.

"I just feel so lonely here by myself…and I'm cold too. Won't you come over and warm me up?" She said seductively.

"I am not some domesticated animal that obeys your every beck and call." Sesshoumaru told her coldly.

"I'm sorry…I've been a naughty girl. I should be punished." She purred. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes.

"Goodbye Emi." He said and he hung up. He was in no mood to put up with Emi's nonsense. She was worse than a dog in heat in his opinion. Sesshoumaru sat down on the sofa. He looked over his shoulder to stare at the pile of clothes in the corner that would soon need to be laundered. He turned and gazed out the window at the gathering clouds. He glanced down at his watch and smirked…it was midday.

Ooo

"…And when I opened my lunch container I saw the Korokke Sesshoumaru-sama made for me so I ate it and it was tasty and then I went back in and the teacher said we were gonna do finger painting and it was really fun when you helped me and got paint all over your clothes…"

Inuyasha growled quietly as he trudged along the street with Rin skipping along beside him chattering non-stop about her day, even though he had been with her through the whole of it. He was amazed at how such a small child could say so many words in one breath. He gazed down at his t-shirt which was covered in yellow and green finger paint. Rin had not one smudge on her uniform because of the overall she had been provided with but Inuyasha, as her guardian, wasn't so lucky.

"…And when I get home I'm gonna show Sesshoumaru-sama the picture I did of him and I hope he likes it because he always like artsy stuff and then I'm gonna…"

Inuyasha groaned and massaged his temple. Rin had indeed painted a picture of Sesshoumaru; it was mostly white hair and a gigantic crescent moon that took up most of the face and two blobs of yellow for eyes. She had also done one of Inuyasha but it was only half the size of her painting of Sesshoumaru. She had painted Inuyasha as a big, flesh coloured blob with masses of white hair and two white triangles that flew in the air, just above his head.

"…yeah and then…um, Inu-chan?"

Inuyasha looked down at her. "What?"

"I just felt a drop of water on my nose."

He stared at her in confusion and then gazed up at the dangerously dark clouds above. There was a distant rumble of thunder. Dread began to creep over the hanyou. He picked up the pace and Rin had to run to keep up with him. Then the heavens let loose their deluge.

"Crap!"

Inuyasha grabbed Rin's hand and pulled her along, while she hastily folded her paintings and struggled to put them in her pack one handed. Lifted his head up to the sky and shook his fist at the clouds.

"Sesshoumaru put you up to this didn't he?" he yelled.

Ooo

Nanae and Makis burst into Wacdonalds just as the rain began to pour down outside. They panted and tried to catch their breath as they walked shakily to a table. The plonked into their seats and giggled as they caught sight of their reflections in the restaurant's window. Nanae tidied herself up a bit and wished she'd brought a hairbrush with her.

They both had cheeseburgers for lunch and shared a portion of fries. Nanae leaned back in her seat and patted her full stomach, sighing happily. Makis finished off the last of her soda and smacked her lips.

"Ahh. That was nice. How about a coffee?"

Nanae gawped at her incredulously. "Coffee? We just finished eating, Makis!"

Makis blinked and remained indifferent. "Yeah, so?"

Nanae opened her mouth to reply but she was too full and too lazy to say a word. She merely shrugged and gestured for Makis to go ahead. Makis used the table for support to lift herself from her seat but she soon plonked back down again.

"I'll get it later." She mumbled and she rested against the back of her seat. Nanae giggled. She looked around the restaurant and watched the people in it bustle around getting their food. Her eyes swept over towards the counter and locked with those of a brown haired guy in black jeans standing there, ordering his meal. She blinked rapidly and looked elsewhere, but as she glanced back at him, she found he was still staring.

"What are you ogling at?" Makis piped, looking in the same direction. "Oooh! He's cute!"

Nanae shushed her and shot a fleeting look at the guy at the counter and her stomach made a back flip when she saw him walking towards their table.

"Hi."

"Hi." Nanae replied, flushing a little. Makis immediately sat up straight and smiled at him sweetly.

"Hi!" Makis said, her eyelashes fluttering provocatively. The guy stared at her as if he had been granted the gift of sight for the first time. He scooted over to her side and sat down beside her.

"So, what's your name?" He asked. Makis giggled girlishly and answered him.

"Makis, eh? I'm Kiyuu. Can I get you a coffee or something?" he offered. Makis nodded and smiled and he got up to order a cup. Nanae slid as far down in her seat as possible and sighed. Makis waggled her eyebrows at her and mouthed 'wow'.

_Of course, he _would_ choose Makis. She's pretty, funny, blah, blah, blah_,Nanae thought bitterly, _I'm so stupid to think anyone would go for me._

Ooo

Sesshoumaru smirked when Inuyasha burst into the apartment soaking wet, dragging a hyper Rin along after him. They were covered in muddy splodges and, in Inuyasha's case, paint. Rin ran towards Sesshoumaru to hug him but he held out his hand to stop her and pointed to her bedroom. Rin nodded, understanding his gestures as a silent command for her to get changed into clean, dry clothes. She made to skip off but Sesshoumaru grabbed her elbow in one sudden movement. He inspected her arm closely and noticed it was bruising. Inuyasha crept silently to his room hoping he wouldn't be seen.

"Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru said calmly. Inuyasha winced and stopped dead in his tracks.

"What happened to her arm, may I ask?" He enquired, his tone even.

"Uhhhhh…."

"I-I-I fell down, Sesshoumaru-sama. In the playground." Rin said, hanging her head in supposed shame and glancing nervously at Inuyasha at the same time. Inuyasha suppressed a sigh. He was surprised at Rin and also thankful but he knew it was useless, Sesshoumaru could smell a lie off anyone, anywhere.

Rin lifted her head to see Sesshoumaru's expression and his eyes bored into hers, expecting her to tell the truth. She stayed silent and held her breath. He let go of her arm.

"Very well. Go." He told her, not letting on for one moment that he hadn't believed her. Rin scampered off to her room to change. Sesshoumaru turned to Inuyasha and watched him closely. Inuyasha stared back in defiance.

"How did it happen…the truth this time." Sesshoumaru demanded. Inuyasha shrugged.

"It was like she said." He said hotly. He turned his head to avoid Sesshoumaru's cold glaring eyes.

"I see."

Inuyasha dared himself to breathe a sigh of relief and he looked at his brother, who was now staring at the kitchen counter.

"It seems, Inuyasha, that you weren't watching over her well enough. You know what this means."

Inuyasha gulped but he tried not to look anxious, instead he clenched his jaw and balled his hands into fists. He still couldn't help thinking, _Awww, man…he's gonna kill me!_

Sesshoumaru strode towards him and stopped, leaving about two inches of space between them.

"No, I'm not going to kill you," He said, grim amusement in his tone. Inuyasha let surprise flutter over his face, had he read his mind?

"I don't care what ya do bastard, it can't hurt me." Inuyasha growled. Sesshoumaru's lip quirked.

"You don't care what I'll do?" He asked, his eyes boring into the hanyou's.

"No way!"

Sesshoumaru smirked and turned his back on him, making his way to the kitchen.

"Very well then. You will not be having any dinner." Sesshoumaru told him, watching his expression carefully. Inuyasha's mouth dropped open for a moment but he soon snapped back into his usual defiant self and crossed his arms, pouting.

"Keh! That the best you can do? Yer losing yer touch bastard!" he said. He slowly turned his head to look at his brother.

"What are you making?" he asked in a small voice.

"Oden." Sesshoumaru replied simply.

Inuyasha's eyes widened. "Oden?"

Sesshoumaru nodded and smirked.

"With…with daikon radish?" Inuyasha asked apprehensively. Sesshoumaru nodded again. Inuyasha's mouth began to water.

"And..and-and those little fish cakes?"

"Yes." Sesshoumaru replied amusedly.

"And, and…karashi?" he said shakily.

"Of course."

Inuyasha groaned and swallowed the pools of saliva that threatened to dribble out of his mouth.

"And…." He lowered his voice to a whisper, "and… konnyaku?"

"Correct."

Inuyasha slapped his forehead and cried out in despair. Sesshoumaru's expression remained impassive but had he been human, his sides would have split already with laughter. Inuyasha trudged to his bedroom to get change and grumbled curses he knew Sesshoumaru would hear, along the way. Inuyasha entered his room and closed the door, then he began to get changed.

He should have watched Rin more closely. And if it hadn't been for that stupid wench back then…he sighed, it was no use thinking about that now. He wasn't getting any dinner. The thought sunk in properly. Inuyasha growled. He may hate living with his older brother, but there was one teensy weensy advantage. Sesshoumaru's food. He was a fantastic cook even though he didn't eat any of it himself. Sure, he would taste it to see how it was coming along but that was about it. Inuyasha groaned again and threw himself onto his bed. Oden was one of his favourites, other than Ramen, and the way Sesshoumaru prepared it…Inuyasha's mouth watered, he could almost smell it. He checked his watch. Only two hours till dinner.

Ooo

Nanae trekked up the stairs to reach her apartment, put the key in the lock and opened the door. She dropped the keys onto the small table and went to the kitchen to grab a snack before going to her shelf and taking out a romance novel. She made herself comfortable on the sofa and began to read, taking bites of a chocolate bar every now and then. She turned the pages. The kitchen clock ticked and the tap dripped but no sound caused her concentration to falter. But her own thoughts did. Makis had gone off with Kiyuu, the guy from Wacdonalds and he had offered to take her out to a club. That meant she would be arriving at anytime…after midnight. Makis always knew how to have a good time but Nanae never learned. Nanae felt a slight ache in her chest and she rubbed the sore spot, glaring accusingly at the chocolate bar for possibly giving her heartburn. But she somehow knew the chocolate bar wasn't at fault. She sighed and turned another page of her book.

After a few hours she felt her eyelids begin to droop sleepily and she yawned. According to her watch it was now eleven thirty. She still wanted to read a bit more though, she only had a few chapters left to go, so once again she turned a page and her eyes began to follow the sequence of words that had been carefully written by the author.

Ooo

A/N: lousy finish to the chapter, I know. I was going to write more but somehow it looked better for the next chapter. I don't know when I'll be able to update again, my parents are forcing me to go to their farm, which is in the middle of NOWHERE. No TV or pc. Groan. Anyway, please R and R!

_Korokke: Japanese croquettes._

_Oden: Japanese hot pot dish. _

_Karashi: Hot Japanese mustard_

_Konnyaku: Yam cake_


	5. Dirty Laundry

Phew! It's been long since I last updated this story! It has partly to do with me not receiving as many reviews as I'd hoped, but oh well.

**Disclaimer:** I hereby declare my un-ownership of Rumiko's characters.

_Daikon: _Japanese radish.

**Chapter 5: Dirty Laundry**

Sesshoumaru lifted the steaming pot off the electric cooker and set it on the counter. He went to the sink to wash his hands and dried them on the dishcloth he always hung over his right shoulder when he cooked. He returned to the counter and removed the lid from the pot, releasing the deliciously rich aroma of his wonderful cooking. Sesshoumaru began to serve the contents into the bowl beside the pot; one fishcake, one egg, some daikon and other vegetables. He then ladled a small amount of the liquid in which the ingredients had been boiled in and, placing the lid back on the pot, he went to the dining table and at Rin's usual eating spot; he set the plate down along with a pair of chopsticks. He pulled the dishcloth off his shoulder and hung it on the back of a chair, and taking a seat, he waited with his arms crossed over his chest.

As though on cue, the pattering of a child's feet was heard and Rin scampered into the dining area and clambered up into her chair. She closed her eyes and happily sniffed at the wonderful smell rising from her bowl, then opening her eyes she looked up at Sesshoumaru with a big smile on her face.

Rin picked up her chopsticks and held them poised over the bowl. "Itadakimas!" she said.

She picked up a bit of fishcake and popped it in her mouth, chewing it with gusto. After swallowing she beamed at her guardian. "Yummy!"

Sesshoumaru remained silent, he just watched her eat. Rin was very fortunate to have bumped into him all those months ago. Now, she had a roof over her head, food in her belly and of course, someone to look after her. Sesshoumaru wondered why he cared so much for this little human child, she was nothing special. Rin spilt a bit of soup on her pale yellow t-shirt. Sesshoumaru's lips quirked upwards, she was just an ordinary girl but why did he feel a strange kind of warmth every time she smiled up at him in admiration or hugged his knees? Why did he go to great pains organizing her bedroom, teaching her manners and cooking her meals? Why did he even bother with her at all? Sesshoumaru concluded that the answers to these questions lurked somewhere he didn't want to explore. It would mean delving deep into his feelings and inevitably stumbling upon unwanted memories and unnecessary emotions. He thought himself an expert at hiding his sentiments and feigning indifference, that wasn't about to change since he had learnt from previous experiences that feelings led to problems.

Rin went to the kitchen to fetch herself a glass of juice and resumed eating as she returned to the table.

Sesshoumaru remembered the first time he had ever been in a kitchen. Totosai had taken Inuyasha and him in after the incident all those years ago. Totosai had been one of the great InuYoukai's closest colleagues and was the only one to voluntarily offer his home to shelter the two young sons of his late friend. He had fed them, clothed them and told them how brave their father was but he never gave them affection. He had felt it only his duty to care for them, a responsibility, but never a reason to indulge in fatherly instincts. When Sesshoumaru turned eleven, Totosai sent him to work in a restaurant which belonged to a friend of his. Sesshoumaru was kept in the kitchens, washing dishes and cleaning counter tops. He recalled stench of human sweat and dirty plates in the stuffy air as he was forced to scrub every single culinary implement clean. He was paid very little and what he received had to be handed over to his guardian Totosai. Sesshoumaru, since then, always resented the old man for that. However, shortly after the young demon's fourteenth birthday he was permitted to aid the very busy chefs as the cooked, he began with simple things such as slicing vegetables and meat, then as he improved, preparing the actual meals from the menu. Totosai had used him in this way, with the intention of having someone –other than himself- cook at home. Sesshoumaru grew to abhor the old demon and refused to continue with what he considered 'wife's work', after all, he _was_ the son of a powerful InuYoukai and that in itself deemed respect. He sought to make it absolutely clear that he was not to be manipulated and in order to have Totosai realise this, he turned to cold words and an icy demeanour with the purpose of being understood. Totosai knew then that the boy he had received into his home was becoming a man, and one very much like his father. So, before he retired from the Police force, Totosai took care of a couple of things. When Sesshoumaru was sixteen; he left the restaurant, much to the disappointment of the head chef who had thought the demon was there to stay, and applied for the job Totosai had kept for him at the police department. He was to be a sketch artist, given his artistic skills.

That didn't mean Sesshoumaru would put an end to his ability to cook. Due to the circumstances, he had no choice but to continue preparing the meals. One of the circumstances consisted of Inuyasha burning every thing edible in sight.

Totosai was currently the headmaster of the school Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha went to and the job was quite demanding. In addition to that, the elderly demon didn't have what it took to keep an eye on two teenage demons (or one teenage demon and one teenage hanyou), for he was getting to be a little…senile. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha moved into a reasonably spacious apartment, finally glad to be free from the loony old demon. Inuyasha was to be Sesshoumaru's responsibility from then on, not that the young demon was pleased with it, he'd rather have thrown Inuyasha out onto the streets than have him share living, not to mention breathing space. Sesshoumaru only tolerated his half brother because…someone…made him promise to do it. Sesshoumaru always kept his word.

The sound of a door opening jerked Sesshoumaru back to the present and out of the corner of his eye he spotted Inuyasha's head peeking out of his room.

"No, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha swore loudly and slammed the door. Sesshoumaru focused his attention on Rin again.

Inuyasha grumbled under his breath as he threw himself upon his bed. He was hungry. Attempting to block out the smell from his nostrils he buried himself underneath the covers, doing all he could to stop slavering all over them. He'd _so_ hoped Sesshoumaru would have forgotten all about the incident from earlier on but no such luck. If only the bastard didn't cook so damn good. Inuyasha resurfaced for some air and immediately caught another whiff of oden causing him to groan and push his face as far into his pillow as possible, squeezing his eyes shut and willing himself to fall asleep, regardless of the time being only eight thirty at night. The gods seemed to take pity on his poor soul, for they granted him the privilege of a deep slumber and Inuyasha found himself entering the realm of dreams.

Ooo

Nanae awoke abruptly at two in the morning, when the living room light blared through her eyelids, but as quickly as it had been turned on, the darkness resumed with another flick of a switch. As Nanae grabbed a cushion to hide behind, she heard a girlish giggle and the sound of feet stumbling.

"Whoops! I didn't know she was sleeping here!" hissed Makis, apparently to someone else in the apartment with her. A male voice rumbled softly.

"That's so naughty!" Makis whispered, letting out a little laugh. Another sound of manly mumbling.

"Shhh! You'll wake her up! It'll have to be some other time then."

The guy said something. Makis gasped excitedly, "Really? That's sounds like fun! Hey, can my friend Nanae go too?"

There was a short pause. The man mumbled again.

"Oh, right. Well, she's not the type to go and have a good time anyway." Makis sighed. "Never mind."

There were more mutterings, this time in pleading tones.

"I can't help having boring friends!" Makis whispered indignantly.

Nanae hunched down and squeezed her eyes shut. She held her cushion closer and buried her face in it. Makis could be heard opening the door.

"Okay, I'll try to go. Bye-bye now." There was a slurping sound, which probably meant serious mouth to mouth contact and later, the thumping of male footsteps growing more and more distant. The door was closed and locked and Makis sighed as she tiptoed to her bedroom.

Nanae listened hard until she was sure Makis had shut her bedroom door. Then she let out harsh, dry sobs into her cushion, muffling the sound so as not to be heard. Her eyes refrained from shedding tears but the pain was still evidently felt as the words 'boring friends' resonated again and again inside her head. Nanae curled up on the sofa, and clenched her fists, beating them feebly and soundlessly against her own head. After a few minutes, she got up, crept silently to her room and went to bed.

Ooo

Inuyasha opened one eye, and then the other. He got up from his bed slowly and as he rubbed the back of his neck and yawned, he glanced at his alarm clock. It was only four in the morning. He grumbled to himself. _If only I hadn't fallen asleep so early last night. Now I'll never be able to get back to sleep._

Inuyasha threw himself back into his pillow and forced himself to doze off. His stomach growled loudly and he turned to his side with a groan. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him.

He shot out of bed and carefully opened his bedroom door. In the dim light, he peered around in all directions, making certain no one was up. He sneaked out into the narrow corridor and out into the living room/dining room. Just as he reached the kitchen, Inuyasha stole a glance over his shoulder, in case Sesshoumaru might have heard him and gotten up to check on things. Convinced that he was indeed alone, Inuyasha neared the electric cooker and lifted the lid off the pot that had been set there. Though the oden was cold, Inuyasha licked his lips and grabbed the nearest spoon, plunging it into the soup and then raising it to his open mouth.

Ooo

Nanae woke up early and stayed in bed for a while as she remembered the conversation from last night. She shook her head feebly, hoping the movement would dislodge the whole thing from her memory. Unfortunately for her, it remained.

That morning Nanae didn't go jogging, instead she waited awhile to gather her thoughts and organise her feelings before stepping out of her bedroom and facing Makis. After twenty minutes of staring at the closed door, Nanae finally stood up from her bed, got dressed and walked out of her room, making her way to the kitchen.

Makis sat at the table, nursing a headache and sipping at a glass of water. Upon hearing Nanae approach, Makis lifted her head and smiled weakly. Nanae forced a grin on her face. "I take it you had fun?"

Makis nodded, grimaced, and placed a hand on the side of her head, groaning. Nanae couldn't help but feel a little pleased about Makis experiencing pain. Makis got up slowly and trudged to her bedroom to have a lie down with a cool, damp cloth on her forehead.

After breakfast, Nanae grabbed her large navy backpack and began stuffing all of the dirty laundry that had been gathering in the corner for days, inside it then swung it on her back. She walked out the apartment door without a backwards glance.

Ooo

Sesshoumaru dressed and left his room. He noticed Inuyasha's door was shut so he assumed the hanyou was still asleep. He went to the living room and drew the curtains, allowing the morning light to drift into the apartment. Turning around, he stepped into the kitchen and at once he spotted Inuyasha sitting at the stainless steel counter, both hands rubbing a full stomach and an empty pot of Oden placed right in front of him. Sesshoumaru breathed out through his nose hard in annoyance, catching his half brother's attention. Inuyasha grunted as he tried to straighten himself, failing in his attempt, and finally slumping back. He then looked up at Sesshoumaru with a grin on his face.

"I don't even regret it." He said with relish and belched. Sesshoumaru reached out and grabbed a handful of the hanyou's silver hair, pulling his head closer. Inuyasha yelled out in protest but Sesshoumaru's hold remained firm.

"Well, guess what?" He growled, twisting Inuyasha's head to give him a better view of the vast pile of clothes in one corner of the kitchen, "It's your turn to wash them today." Sesshoumaru let go of Inuyasha's hair roughly and went to set the pot in the sink. Inuyasha stayed sitting at the counter, rubbing the area of his head that was most affected. Sesshoumaru turned to glare at him once again.

"Well?" he barked.

Inuyasha reluctantly rose from his seat, threw his brother a look of utmost contempt and plodded to his room to get dressed. He returned to the kitchen with a duffel bag and scooped the clothes up into his arms and dumped them inside. He began to fumble with the bag's shoulder strap until he heard Sesshoumaru clear his throat. Inuyasha straightened slowly, mastering the impulse of seizing the bag and throwing it at his brother's head. Sesshoumaru gave him a piercing glare.

"You're forgetting the clothes strewn around in that hellhole you call a room."

Inuyasha growled and spun around, stomping off to his bedroom. He hated Sesshoumaru for being so precise about everything. Inuyasha entered his room and snatched up his used garments from the floor, his chair, and from under his bed. He stormed out again, passing Sesshoumaru's room as he did so and noticed with irritation that it was perfect and scrupulously organised.

He returned to the duffel bag and crammed the rest of the clothes into it, trying to ignore Sesshoumaru standing opposite him with his arms crossed, observing. Inuyasha hauled the heavy bag onto one shoulder with a grunt and waited for any other comment to be made. Sesshoumaru regarded him for a moment and turned his back on him, Inuyasha took this as 'now get out of my sight'. He moved towards the door and was about to step out of the apartment when he heard the infuriating monotone of his big brother's voice rumble out.

"You haven't collected Rins clothes, halfbreed.'

Inuyasha abandoned the duffel bag and with a loud, angry roar and hurled himself towards Sesshoumaru with one set of claws raised above his head.

Ooo

The door of the Laundromat swung open and a silver haired teenager wearing a red cap lumbered in, carrying a huge duffel bag that looked filled to bursting. He also sported an equally large black eye. The owner of the Laundromat offered to give him a hand only to be rudely refused by the brash young man.

Inuyasha pressed 'start' and the washing machine began to whir and soap up the clothes inside it. The hanyou sat back in his seat and stared at the circular motion in which they moved in and he watched the bubbly water slosh around and around. He yawned. This was a very boring ritual.

Ooo

Kagome Higurashi stepped out the front door and glanced down at the list of groceries she had to buy. Just as she was about to set off, her mum called to her from the landing. Kagome paused in mid-step and turned.

"Yes mum?"

"Where are you going?"

Kagome sighed, "I _told_ you, to the grocery store."

Mrs Higurashi descended the stairs and joined her daughter outside. She handed her a slip of paper. "Then can you please pick up my skirt? It's at the dry cleaners."

Kagome groaned. "Do I have to? You know how far it is from the grocery store."

Mrs Higurashi turned back to enter the house. "I need it for today Kagome."

Kagome scowled and headed for the steps that led downwards from the shrine that was her home.

Ooo

The washing machine bleeped. Inuyasha got up and waited for the water to drain from the clothes and then he opened the small, circular door to begin putting the damp clothes into one of the plastic baskets he had been provided with. He crossed to the other side of the room and stuffed the garments into one of the available tumble driers and then switched it on. He sat down to wait some more.

The door swung open and he looked up. Someone, a girl judging from the scent, stepped in but her face was obscured by a massive grocery bag. The woman working at the launderette rushed forward to help. The girl's hand stuck out awkwardly to give in a slip of paper.

"It's a navy blue one." She said in a muffled voice. The woman nodded and went to the other side of the shop where the dry cleaners offered their services.

The girl holding the grocery bag bent over to place it on the ground, stumbling a little from its weight. Inuyasha sniggered.

The black haired girl spun round, "Is something funny?" She stopped and gawped at the silver haired teenager. "You!"

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "You." He very slowly got to his feet.

Ooo

After dropping Rin off at school, Sesshoumaru indulged in the pleasantness of a morning, and possibly an afternoon if Inuyasha got held up, to himself. He sat back in his sofa. His moment was short lived however, when the doorbell rang. Sesshoumaru growled at the interruption and even considered ignoring the unwanted visitor if it hadn't been for their frustrating persistence. He got up and went to open the door.

"Hello Sesshoumaru." Purred the demoness in the door way. She stepped inside and removed her jacket.

Sesshoumaru closed the door, seeing that she was intent on staying a while. "What are you doing here, Emi?"

Emi looked up and stared into his cold amber eyes. She smiled seductively and batted her long eyelashes.

"I came to spend time with my lover." She replied in a smooth tone. Sesshoumaru's mouth formed a tight line. Fighting all the primal urges that had awakened inside of him, he opened the door.

"I do not wish to spend time with you. Leave." He told her coldly.

Emi laughed softly, completely nonplussed. Sesshoumaru scowled, he did not care much for her attitude. She walked up to him slowly and gently closed the door. She took his hand and led him to his own bedroom, her hungry light pink eyes never leaving his.

Ooo

Nanae stopped just a short distance away from the launderette to catch her breath, dumping the heavy backpack onto the sidewalk.

_Whoever knew clothes could be so damn heavy? I could weight train like this._

She moved her shoulders around before hauling the back pack up again. She neared the door just as it swung open, and a raven haired teenager burst out, carrying an immense grocery bag in one arm and a pressed navy blue skirt draped over the other. She turned to shout,

"AND THERE'S NO NEED TO YELL!"

She pranced off with her nose in the air. Nanae blinked a few times. _Oooookay then._

She was all set to enter the shop when she was sent flying onto the hard cement and the backpack came to fall at her feet. All she saw was clothes. Clothes everywhere. And a flash of silver. _A flash of silver?_

A silver haired teen sat on the sidewalk, rubbing his head and backside. Nanae jumped to her feet despite the pain she felt in a very tender part of her body.

She held her hand out to him, "I'm so sorry, are you al-"

The boy slapped her hand away and stood up. He growled at her. "Watch where you're going, wench. You blind?"

Nanae stared at him in surprise. Inuyasha 'keh'ed and lugging his duffel bag along with him, he stomped off in the same direction as the girl who could still be seen from a distance.

Inuyasha growled again. "OI! YOU! GET BACK HERE! WE AIN'T DONE YET!"

Nanae shook her head in disbelief. She looked down at the sidewalk, now littered with clothes that were hers and Makis'. She sighed heavily.

_Come on Nanae, where's that dark side of you? The guy sends you flying yet you're the one at fault. Jeez, you even offered to help him up! What the hell is wrong with you?_ Said a voice in Nanae's head. Nanae closed her eyes.

_I honestly don't know what's wrong with me. I don't have what it takes to be confident and positive. I'm just a sad, pathetic girl who likes to draw. I'm the kind of person everyone meets once and then forgets, it's like I don't even exist. That's how it's always been. My father was no one, my mother was no one and I'm nothing. No wonder Makis' thinks I'm boring… I'm the essence of boring. _

Nanae felt her eyes fill up with tears as she packed the clothes into the bag. She blinked forcefully.

_Why do I have to cry so much? I really _am_ pathetic. _

Feeling utterly miserable with herself, Nanae pushed the door open and went inside.

Ooo

Giving up completely the chance of winning the argument Inuyasha had gone back to his apartment block. He opened the door and set the bag of clean clothes down. He went to the kitchen to grab a snack when a distinct odour met his nose. An odour he felt he'd rather not identify. Going to his room, he saw Sesshoumaru's door open and Emi stepped out looking a little…untidy, her red hair was out of place and her little skirt, Inuyasha noticed, was inside out. Emi glowered at him disdainfully and flounced into the living room to grab her jacket.

Inuyasha sneered, "So, bitch, running out of clothes to wear?"

Emi turned to glare at him, "Why do you say that, half breed?"

Inuyasha nodded at her extremely short skirt, "I see you're just using the belt."

Emi scowled and walked out. Inuyasha sniggered. He turned to enter his bedroom when he heard a rustle of clothing. He looked round and spotted Sesshoumaru leaving his room, buttoning up his shirt at the same time.

Inuyasha cleared his throat. Sesshoumaru paused and acknowledged him with a rather bored expression. "Yes?"

"D'you really have to do that in the same apartment that I live in? The smell makes me nauseous."

Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrow in fake concern, "Really?" Then he turned and walked away. Inuyasha frowned.

"Hey! I'm still talking to you!"

Sesshoumaru chose to ignore him. At that moment the cordless phone that was on the kitchen counter, rang and Sesshoumaru being closest to it, answered.

"Sesshoumaru."

"Ah! Hello, Sesshoumaru m'boy!" said a voice that wasmarked with age.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes in annoyance. "Want do you want, Totosai."

"Just to inform you that…uh…well…we've lost him."

Sesshoumaru's eyes snapped open. "_What?_"

He could hear Totosai's discomfort on the other side.

"I'm sorry, that's all I know. We've lost track of him."

Sesshoumaru slammed his palm on the counter, surprising Inuyasha as he did so. Inuyasha neared himself cautiously and mouthed 'what's wrong?'. Sesshoumaru shook his head.

"How can you lose track of a man who's in a coma?" Sesshoumaru asked, his insides writhing with anger.

"He must have been transferred."

Sesshoumaru rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Find him."

"Sesshoumaru, youdo know I have no authority over this matter. it's only because of my old contacts in the force that I'm able to obtain this information. I merely run a highschool. Oh, I'll be seeing you in a couple of days aren't I? We'll talk then."

"I wish to speak of it now." Sesshoumaru demanded.

"Huh? Who is this?" Totosai asked.

Sesshoumaru growled threateningly, "Totosaaaai..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have the wrong number!" the old man said cheerfully.

Sesshoumaru clenched his jaw together, "Don't you dare, old man…"

"Toodles!"

Sesshoumaru heard the dialling tone, and he slammed the phone onto the counter.

Inuyasha took a few tentative steps. "Soooo…what the hell was that?"

It took a while for his older brother to answer and Inuyasha had no idea what he might have been thinking at that moment since Sesshoumaru's bangs covered his eyes. He slowly lifted his head, his usually cold amber eyes filling up with crimson. Inuyasha took a step back.

"He's gone."

Inuyasha stared at him in confusion, before a look of dawning comprehension appeared on his face. He clenched his fists.

"Damnit."

Ooo

"You're father is right in there, He just woke up." Said the nurse.

The young man stepped out from the shadows. "Thank you."

He opened the white door and looked around the room. He glanced down at his father who lay in the hospital bed, immobile but emitting short, raspy breaths. The boy sat down in the chair situated by the window. He took his father's hand.

"How are you feeling?"

The man took a few minutes to reply. "Like shit." He said hoarsely. The teenagergrinned and sat back. "It's good to have you with us again."

His father chuckled croakily. He then frowned. "How long has it been?

The boy's smile left his face. "…Ten years."

An uncomfortable silence wrapped around the both of them.

"Where is it?" Whispered the older demon.

The younger one shifted in his seat. "We're looking for it." He distinctly heard his father curse under his breath.

He leaned forward, "We're doing all we can, father."

"Well it's not good enough!" said the demon, and he began to cough. The young man stood and pressed a glass of water to his father's lips. After the cooling drink, the demon lay back in his pillows.

When the boy had settled in his seat the older man spoke. "Have you tracked the driver down?"

The teenager looked up quickly, "The driver...? So do you think he's the one that-"

"He's the most likely option."

The boy nodded, "His current whereabouts are known."

"And his family?"

"Family?"

"Yes, I believe he had a wife and child."

"Ah, his wife is dead."

The man was silent and thoughtful. "And his child?"

"In Tokyo."

The older demon coughed again but held up his hand as his son made to stand up. The boy sat down again slowly.

"I want you to keep a close eye on her." He ignored the malevolent glint in his son's eye. "I want her intact, do you understand?"

The boy bowed his head. "Yes father."

The demon looked at his son. "Now Ryuusei… how would you like to transfer to another school?"

Ooo

A/N long chapter (ish) for you. Please let me know what you think! I want to see if this fic has any potential at all.


	6. Tormented dreams

Here's another chapter! I hope people are reading it and if they are, I doubly hope they are reviewing it because I'll be awfully sad if they don't (makes the cute puppy dog face). Thank you those who did send their comments!

**Disclaimer**: (Kyuuketsuki-san and her vampire army versus Rumiko Takahashi and her band of loyal…er…characters) 'CHAAAAAAAAAARGE!' as you can probably tell, this would never happen, therefore I come to the following conclusion…I do not own Inuyasha.

**Chapter 6: Tormented Dreams**

Nanae trudged home, hauling her oversized backpack of freshly laundered clothes along with her. As soon she entered her apartment she threw herself upon the settee, dumping the bag onto the floor with a great sigh of relief.

Just then, Makis emerged from her bedroom looking a little disorientated and more a little untidy. Nanae forced a grin onto her face.

"Feeling better?" she asked, surprised at how hollow her voice sounded. It appeared the words from the night before still stung quite a bit and Nanae felt she wasn't ready to forgive yet.

Makis frowned. She twigged something was up and sat down beside her friend.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

Nanae lowered her gaze and stared at her hands. She shook her head. "Nothing."

"I don't believe you." Makis said. She sighed. "It's something I've done, isn't it?"

Nanae lifted her head. She hadn't really expected Makis to grasp at the problem so quickly. Nanae shook her head…then shrugged, but still remained silent.

Makis gently shook the girl's arm. "Come on, Nanae. I'm your best friend…you can tell me."

_I'm your best friend._

The words rung inside Nanae's head. A cruel little voice piped up spontaneously. _If she's your best friend, why did she disappoint you by calling you a boring person…and behind your back? Should you leave things as they are? Are you that desperate? _Resentment rose up inside of her. The voice was right…she always tolerated Makis behaviour and hardly complained, couldn't she have a little consideration at least?

Nanae looked Makis, her eyes blazing, "My best friend! Do you even know the full meaning of those two words! What their significance is!" she asked angrily, balling her hands up into fists. Makis pulled back in surprise.

"Nanae are you okay?" she asked, eyes wide with bewilderment.

Nanae continued, "Best friends are supposed to look out for each other and defend each other, but I suppose several of the principles of friendship may not be as important for some as they are for others." She said bitterly. Makis raised her eyebrows.

"What?" she said in disbelief, looking utterly confused.

Nanae gave a hollow laugh and shook her head. "You don't remember?"

"Don't remember _what_,Nanae? I seriously have no idea what you're going on about, and this is so unlike you!" Makis said, sounding slightly upset, not to mention a little concerned.

Nanae blinked back her tears and scowled, lowering her gaze to the floor and remembered the event in question. She glanced up at Makis' wide eyed expression and almost felt foolish for getting so offended...she could see her friend clearly hadn't a clue. Nanae stared at her own hands.

"You…told him…you couldn't help having boring friends." Nanae mumbled.

She glimpsed at Makis, half expecting her to look absolutely shocked and try to explain or at least get down on her knees to beg for forgiveness. What she got was completely the opposite. After staring at Nanae for what seemed like forever, Makis burst out laughing causing Nanae to give her a resentful glare.

"What's so funny?"

Makis clutched at her stomach, attempting to control herself. "I'm sorry!" She gasped. Nanae narrowed her eyes slightly and after catching a glimpse of her face, Makis fell back and lapsed into fresh bouts of laughter. Nanae appreciated this reaction very little and she crossed her arms over her chest impatiently, until Makis was finished.

When that eventually happened Nanae uncrossed her arms. "You done?" She asked irritably.

Makis nodded, wiping away a tear. "You don't really think that I meant what I said, do you?" She grinned.

Nanae shrugged. "Maybe."

Makis continued to grin. "Oh, Nanae, you silly moo! I only said that to the guy so he could buzz off already! I'd told him simply 'no' before but he wouldn't accept it." She added.

Nanae was feeling extremely humiliated at that precise moment. It was so typical of her insecure self to get fussed up over the most trivial little thing. Makis nudged her in the ribs.

"So, even _you_ believed it? I think I might just become an actress, it seems to be my calling." She laughed. She suddenly frowned. "I must have been soooo drunk."

Nanae shrunk into the sofa cushions in shame.

Makis sighed. "Girl, you need to give that confidence of yours a boost…you'll suffer later on in life if you don't."

Nanae straightened her back and faced Makis, bowing her head various times in a mocking fashion. "Yes, oh Wise One."

Makis giggled and shoved Nanae to one side playfully. "Shut up!"

Nanae popped up and pushed her back. After a few minutes of the giggles and pushing and shoving, the girls relaxed on the sofa contently. Nanae turned to Makis, suddenly serious.

"Hey…I'm sorry for…y'know…jumping to conclusions. I should have remembered how rock solid our friendship is." She apologised.

Makis shook her head, "No, I'm sorry; I shouldn't have used what I said as an excuse to get rid of some guy."

Nanae hugged her best friend, relieved to be able to put the whole situation behind her. Never again would she think badly of Makis without having good reason for it and she would certainly not jump to conclusions any time soon.

Makis jumped up abruptly. "I'm making lunch!" she exclaimed cheerfully. Nanae cheered, and felt even happier to have made up with her friend, since Makis was the better cook of the two. Nanae was most inept in the kitchen and never failed to reduce even a shred of lettuce to ashes.

OooOooOooOoo

Sesshoumaru paced the living room, contemplating the current situation and attempting to keep his ire under control. Inuyasha flipped over the pack of frozen peas that he had placed over the black eye Sesshoumaru had given him early that morning. He rested his head on the back of the sofa.

"Y'know...you shouldn't kill yerself over this dude. As long as he's in a coma, he'll be no threat to anyone." The hanyou said shortly. Sesshoumaru stopped in his tracks and turned to stare disapprovingly at the back of Inuyasha's head.

"He will always be a threat, coma or not." He remarked icily.

Inuyasha twisted his body around as best he could to face his brother. "Oh come on Sesshoumaru, you really think he'll go all zombie on us and come seeking revenge? Feast on our brains even?" Inuyasha sniggered. Sesshoumaru shot him a fierce glare.

"I can easily give you a companion for that black eye. If you wish to act like a clown, I truly won't hesitate to make you look like one." He hissed.

The smirk dropped from Inuyasha's face immediately and he revolved to his previous sitting position on the sofa, muttering angrily. Sesshoumaru began to pace the room again slowly, his hands clasped behind his back.

"This situation is very serious, Inuyasha…our attitudes greatly influence our actions and we cannot expect to succeed if we treat a matter of great importance as though it were nothing more than a joke." He said monotonously, hardly expressing the concern that he was currently experiencing.

Inuyasha snorted and shifted the bag of peas onto the sorest part of his eye. "You're making it sound like we're on a mission or something." He sneered.

Sesshoumaru paused in mid step and turned his head, glaring at the hanyou from the corner of his eye. "Then so be it." He uttered coldly. He moved towards the front door and grabbed his jacket.

Inuyasha narrowed his good eye and opened his mouth to speak but the slamming of the front door told him that Sesshoumaru had already left. Inuyasha 'keh'ed and shrugged but he still couldn't help feeling just a little uneasy at Sesshoumaru's words. '_This situation is very serious, Inuyasha…our attitudes greatly influence our actions and we cannot expect to succeed if we treat a matter of great importance as though it were nothing more than a joke.'_ Inuyasha frowned. It was happening all over again and whatever occurred that night ten years ago was only the beginning. Inuyasha could recall only flashes of it and the memories haunted his dreams, transforming them into nightmares filled with screams and darkness…a great deal of darkness. Inuyasha felt a pang of guilt for turning the whole thing into a joke in front of Sesshoumaru, he was the one who could remember every single detail of the occurrence, not that he had ever shared the knowledge of it with anyone. Inuyasha shuddered involuntarily, he wondered what Sesshoumaru dreamt about at night and asked himself if his brother's dreams were similar at all to his own.

Inuyasha suddenly remembered one occasion, several years ago when he was still under Totosai's care, and he was quietly tiptoeing past his elder brother's room on the way to the bathroom. Sesshoumaru must have been sixteen or so at the time…

(Flashback)

_Upon hearing a weak moan he stopped dead. He opened the door carefully and peeked inside and found Sesshoumaru thrashing around in his bed, drenched in perspiration and crying out incoherently. Inuyasha looked around hopelessly, wondering if he should wake him or bring Totosai in._

_He silently watched his brother desperately try to reach out with his arm for something (or someone) that wasn't there and grasp in vain at thin air. Inuyasha wouldn't ever forget the look of absolute anguish on his sleeping brother's face, an expression Sesshoumaru never before used._

_Inuyasha neared himself to the bed anxiously, slowly stretching out an arm to awaken Sesshoumaru from his bad dream. Suddenly the demon's eyes snapped open and grabbing Inuyasha by the throat, Sesshoumaru flung him to the floor and pinned him there. Inuyasha gave a strangled yelp of terror as he hit the ground but the real shock he received was when he gazed upon his brother's features…his eyes were blood red and the stripes running along his cheeks had thickened. His face was contorted into a grimace of rage and the growls he emitted were even more animal like than ever. _

_Never before had Inuyasha seen him so angry…or terrified, for that matter. Even in that moment, Sesshoumaru's crimson eyes held but a glimmer of fear._

(End Flashback)

Inuyasha furrowed his brow in thought. If Totosai hadn't burst into the room and forced Sesshoumaru to release his grip…Inuyasha shook his head. Sesshoumaru wouldn't have killed him, he knew that but it was still frightening when his own elder brother, who prided himself on controlling his emotions, attempted to murder him in his bedroom. _Those dreams must drive him nuts_, the hanyou thought. He sighed heavily and removed the bag of frozen peas from his eye. He got up and went to the freezer to take out another colder pack. Once again he was sitting on the sofa and he positioned the fresh bag over his sore eye, wincing slightly.

"Damn him." He muttered. Nightmares or no nightmares his brother was still a bastard and Inuyasha contented himself with imagining a variety of punishments and tortures to submit Sesshoumaru to, some which included Rin and plenty finger paint. Inuyasha chuckled quietly to himself. His thoughts then inexplicably wandered to the raven haired girl at the Laundromat, the one he'd argued with on more than one occasion. How he wished to have been able to win the previous dispute.

_Keh! Stupid wench, thinking she's better than me. No human yells at me like that and gets away with it! _ Inuyasha shifted in his seat._ Except maybe Rin. Whatever, she ain't worth my time anyway. What is she…fifteen and already bitchin' around?_

Inuyasha leaned his head back and closed his eyes. _Well, I ain't gonna be seeing her anytime soon, that's for sure…_he sighed, _hmm…I wonder what shampoo she uses…it smells so good._

Inuyasha opened his eyes at once and sat up straight, scowling. He smirked and shook his head. _Keh! Sesshoumaru must have hit me harder than I thought…my head's all messed up._

He sat back, wondering why he wasn't feeling all too convinced with that explanation.

OooOooOooOoo

That night, Nanae tossed and turned in her bed. Once again the same dream was repeating itself inside her head and her only escape was waking up but her own curiosity prolonged the dream for longer.

(Dream)

"_You were right…he has lost all control." Spoke a soft, breathy voice. Nanae stood rooted to the spot, her mind swirling with a mix of confusion and curiosity. She had seen this woman so many times before but not once had she thought of asking her name. The woman's identity was a mystery yet her physical appearance seemed so inexplicably familiar. She looked like a lost soul, tormented and restless but at the same time distant and illusory with her crystal like aura that glimmered around her floating form creating an almost divine appearance. Apart from that, the woman's natural beauty seemed to illuminate the endless darkness within Nanae's subconscious._

_Nanae took one tentative step. "Who…are you?" many times this question had been asked and never was it answered. As Nanae expected, the ethereal being didn't reply. Her dreams were always so monotonous in this way, leaving her with the burning desire to discover the meaning of what she had just experienced. The woman glided towards her, a single tear tracing her cheek, and she took Nanae's hands._

"_Please promise me you'll do what I had asked of you." She whispered softly. _Huh?_ Nanae thought, _this is new.

_This was the first time the woman had ever broken out of the regular pattern that was Nanae's dream. 'what I had asked of you…', Nanae frowned…what had she asked? She certainly had no recollection of any previous questions this divine-ish being might have made. So what was she talking about? And who was she?_

_Nanae pulled out of her grasp. "I don't understand." _

_The woman made no attempt at wiping away the tears that ran freely from her eyes. Instead she pleaded, "Sister…my sister…without your sacrifice, the goodness of humankind can never hope to prevail…"_

_She let out a small sob, her appearance beginning to gradually waver and diminish. Nanae gasped. She couldn't leave yet! There were still many questions left unasked and unanswered. Who's, what's, why's and how's spun around inside Nanae's head as she reached out to grab at the now translucent figure but her fingers closed around nothing but air as the woman was consumed by the darkness._

_Nanae clenched her outstretched hand into a fist. Damnit! What was her name?_

_She sighed and looked around sombrely; she was in the middle of nowhere. Everywhere she looked the darkness swept over her vision leaving nothing but a dull gloom that surrounded her like a blanket. She lowered her fist. _

_Suddenly, a horrible clenching pain squeezed at her lower abdomen, causing her to cried out and such was its intensity that it rendered her to her knees, as she clutched at her stomach. She collapsed onto her side and unconsciously curled up into a foetal position as she clenched her teeth and whimpered. Another searing pain gripped her heart and she gasped hoarsely, staring down at her chest and noticing a small pale pink glow emit from it. She pressed a hand over her heart in vain, for the light got brighter and as it did, the pain in her body intensified. _

_Nanae attempted to scream but her voice was lost in the suffocating brightness, all she could do was curl up into a tighter position and screw up her eyes in anguish. Miraculously the pain began to subside and the light's intensity gradually decreased, however, the squeezing, wrenching pain in her lower tummy continued to plague her. Nanae started to breathe a little better and she lifted her hand from her heart, now that the burning feeling had receded. She concentrated solely on clutching at her stomach which seemed to be clenching itself up into a tight ball._

Wait a moment…_Nanae thought. _This feeling is too familiar…

(End dream)

Nanae's eyes snapped open and she released the breath that she had been unconsciously holding. She was sweating something awful and she felt extremely uncomfortable seeing as the cramp in her abdomen lingered. Nanae groaned and slowly got out of bed, sifting through her drawers until she'd found what she was looking for. She trudged to the bathroom in the dim morning light bringing along with her a pair of panties and a tampon.

Nanae relaxed in the lightly fragranced and steaming water and sighed, rubbing her poor, swollen tummy.

_Damnit. Why now with school so near? I think my body hates me._

She closed her eyes. She breathed in the soothing lavender scented vapour that rose off the surface of the water. She tried to remember her dream and all of its minor details.

Who was that woman? Where did she come from? Those questions ruled over any other.

Nanae burned with curiosity; she so desperately wanted to discover the identity of the mysterious being that constantly haunted her dreams, the being that had called her 'sister'.

Why sister? And what seemed to be so important that it was worth sacrificing something for?

Nanae's brow furrowed in thought. What if she were a relative of some sort? Of course, she would have to be a dead relative or one capable of astral projections. Nanae thought then of her uncle, he would know of something like this…maybe.

Nanae swirled some of the bubbles around with her finger. She'd ask him about it, when she got the chance and a chance she always had, ever since she was small. As a child she was very curious and she continuously asked her uncle questions about their family. It seemed ever since her mother had died, Nanae had experienced a large void in her being and she was determined to fill at least a part of it up with answers. It almost became something of an obsession during her childhood but she soon grew out of it, much to her uncle's relief. At times, when she was again pestering her uncle with questions, she nearly always detected in him a touch of hesitance before he answered her but she never got round to discovering why. He looked as though he were afraid of revealing something he shouldn't. This happened on many an occasion, especially when they touched the topic of Nanae's mother. However, when it came to her father, Nanae refused to learn anything about him because secretly she considered him dead and not 'away'. At some point she had wanted to know why he had left but another, more contradictive part of her didn't care.

As Nanae lifted herself out of the lukewarm bathwater, she wondered if her uncle would give her the whole truth…hell, he was even welcome to elaborate if need be. What if it were one of those sinister family secrets?...Or perhaps nothing at all impacting.

Nanae wrapped a towel around herself and watched the bubbly, lavender scented water disappear down the plughole.

OooOooOooOoo

The only light in the apartment was the one seeping from beneath Sesshoumaru's closed bedroom door. The said demon was sitting at his desk in silence, his breathing was steady, his posture was perfect but his mind was in turmoil…it had become a place of angry thoughts and flaming accusations. After a few more moments of soundless angst, he pulled open a drawer and took out a clean sheet of white paper and a fine point pen. He stared at the piece of paper with an expression that was equally as blank. He then picked up the pen and held it but a few millimetres off the surface of the sheet, poised as though waiting for something to occur. He began to draw. Sesshoumaru had not the faintest idea of what he was doing, nor did he care…even if there was no fixed image in his head to convey upon the paper he continued determinedly, it was one of the few outlets he had for his compressed anger.

All that could be heard was the slight scratching of the pen as it crossed over the paper, leaving bold, black lines in its wake. After ten minutes, Sesshoumaru put down the pen and held up his work and stared fixatedly at it, trying to fathom its underlying significance.

He saw that it was indeed strange…abstract and angry but oddly meaningful. Although he didn't feel entirely satisfied with his own creation, he placed it in a drawer, above his quick sketch of Rin. He switched off the overhead lamp and moved towards his bed in the dim morning light. He sat down and pulled off his shirt and shoes and remained there, motionless, gazing into the darkness. He thought back to his conversation with Totosai on the phone.

_Lost him…How could we have lost him? Now that filthy scum is out there somewhere, his despicable mind most probably plotting his comeback. Is it possible to have gotten so careless? What would father say if he were alive now? _

Memories of his childhood popped up in his head, reminding him of his past…of his family, memories that should have been locked away and forgotten. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and lowered his head.

…_What should I do father? _

OooOooOooOoo

A/N: shorter chapter than usual, but I wanted to get this posted before my exams. Exams are evil. I'm a vampire and even I recognise their malicious intent…TO MAKE LIFE HELL FOR ALL WHO SIT THEM! Ahem, interesting revelation. If only exams could bleeeeeeeed….

Please read and review!


	7. Tokyo Kokusai Highschool

Hello peeps! No, I'm not dead, I've just not updated in a while. Thank you so much those who have reviewed, you keep me going. Anyway, before you've all noticed that I've written about Sesshoumaru and Nanae living their own separate little lives, well now that's all going to change. Here's ch 7!

**Chapter 7: Tokyo Kokusai High School**

_Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep!_

Nanae slammed her hand over the sleep button and groaned loudly. She rolled slowly to one side and fell off her bed with a thump and after a few moments of lying on the floor, she got to her feet sleepily. The first day of school had finally arrived, not that it was greatly awaited. Suddenly Nanae realized that she didn't feel prepared enough to face what loomed inevitably closer. Studying in a school with demons was not something she had ever done before, nor was it something she would voluntarily attempt. Yet a certain sense of excitement brew in her insides as she considered the possibilities of meeting beings that she had only seen from a healthy distance, beings that were far to complex to understand and that were situated on a completely different level than she.

After showering and getting dressed she trudged to the kitchen in the dark, tripping over a shoe that had been left carelessly on the floor. She stumbled and cursed under her breath, kicking the shoe away into a corner. She switched on the kitchen light and took out a bowl and some cereal from the cupboard. As she munched her breakfast she distinctly heard Makis get up and enter the bathroom to have a shower.

Twenty minutes later Nanae was standing, arms crossed over her chest, by the door with her schoolbag on the ground beside her and was tapping her foot impatiently. If Makis took any longer, they wouldn't make it in time for the new students' introduction. And arriving late for an event of importance would not create a good first impression for either of them.

"Makis!" She called out, "Hurry up!"

"Okay!" responded Makis' irritated voice from inside her bedroom. "I just need to do my hair, that's all!"

Nanae rolled her eyes and let her arms fall to her sides as she began to nervously pace the area in front of the sofa. She glanced at her watch. They now had approximately ten minutes to get to school. Nanae's heart jumped to her throat as she realised the possibility of arriving late on their first day of school. She gulped and practically ran to Makis' bedroom and hammered on the door.

"Makis! Come on! We'll be late because of you!"

"Wait…A…Minute!"

"We don't have a minute!" Nanae cried. She continued to hammer on the door, thinking it would get Makis out faster. She heard the lock click and the knob turn squeakily. As soon as Nanae realised Makis was ready she zoomed to the front door and grabbed her bag spinning around to wait for her friend, who strolled at an infuriatingly calm pace, bending down to pick up her back pack and adjusting its straps on her shoulders. Nanae positively jumped up and down with hysteria.

"Hurry up hurry up hurry up hurry up hurry up hur-"

"Calm down already!" said Makis, pinning back loose strands of black hair with a pair of green hairclips.

As soon as Makis placed one foot out of the apartment, Nanae grabbed her arm and almost left no time to slam the front door shut as she tore down the stairs half pulling, half dragging a bewildered Makis along with her.

OooOooOooOoo

Sesshoumaru arrived on his motorcycle as he returned from dropping Rin off at school. He parked it and placed both feet on the ground while revving up the engine as a sign for Inuyasha that it was time to leave. He could hear the hanyou squawk in protest.

"Wait! I can't find my- Oh wait there it is. Sesshoumaru! Don't you dare go without me!"

Sesshoumaru suppressed an impatient sigh. Yes, they were getting back to the usual morning routine. With his demon hearing he was able to pick up the sound of his brother running down the stairwell muttering curses under his breath. Inuyasha burst out of the main apartment building and ran to the motorcycle. _That idiot_, thought Sesshoumaru irritably, _he forgot his helmet._

"Forget something, did you?" asked Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha bent forward to catch his breath and then straightened up to blink in confusion.

"Wha-?"

Inuyasha slapped his forehead as he suddenly realised. He turned around to run but stopped, facing Sesshoumaru and holding up one finger. "One moment." He said and then tore towards the apartment building and raced up the stairs, two at a time, wrenching open the front door to his apartment. He grabbed the shiny, black helmet off the counter and positively threw himself out of the building. Between pants, he hopped onto the motorcycle and rammed the helmet onto his head.

"Lessgo!" he huffed as he tried to regain some of the oxygen he had lost during his run.

"Hmph." Said Sesshoumaru as he kicked off and zoomed into the distance.

OooOooOooOoo

"Nanae! We still have a few minutes! Slow down!" gasped Makis as she struggled to keep up. Nanae was way ahead of her, forever glancing at her watch and picking up the pace even more with every passing minute. She thanked the gods the Tokyo Kokusai high school was only a few blocks from their apartment, otherwise they never would have made it in time.

The two girls were soon lost in a sea of students as they approached the doors of their new school. Nanae was forced to stop and wait for Makis to catch her breath since the girl was unused to walking even short distances. During the few minutes she waited for her gasping friend, Nanae took the time to look around her. Everything was so different from what she was used to back home in Osaka. One example of this difference could be found in the very students of Kokusai High, for among the dominating numbers of black haired teens a few individuals stood out because of their radical contrast in appearance. Nanae was able to spot a couple of wolf demons, laughing and joking as they entered the school and she noticed one of them had bright red hair. Looking to her left she also caught a glimpse of a girl with light green tresses but was unable to recognise the species of demon that she was. Another thing that was hard to ignore was the fact that many expensive and not to mention luxurious cars and other forms of transport were filling up spaces in the car park. Nanae couldn't help but feel wistful, even looking down at her own two feet with a forlorn expression on her face.

"Ok, I think I'm fine now." Breathed Makis, cutting short Nanae's staring time. Nanae nodded and together they joined the steady flow of students streaming through the doors.

OooOooOooOoo

Kokusai High was a big school. That was the first thought that entered Nanae's head. The corridors were like extensive stretches of road that continued further than the human eye's visual capacities. However the width of the corridors couldn't hold enough space for the number of students pouring through them.

Nanae resisted the urge to cling to Makis but she still didn't want to be separated from the only person she knew in the whole school. Being on her own in a place she'd never been before was not something she had experienced with positive consequences. But Nanae had no reason to worry because Makis instantly grabbed her arm in a vice like fashion.

"Don't you dare let go, Nanae! The current is way too strong in these parts!" Makis said, a hint of anxiousness residing in her tone. Nanae couldn't help but giggle.

The new students were to go to the assembly hall for introductions and, of course, instructions. Not only were there new students coming in from other schools, but also there were those beginning their first year at high school, and all crammed into one auditorium. The auditorium itself was large indeed; however, the number of new students seemed to exceed the standard amount.

Once the chattering had died down, an elderly demon took his place before them and cleared his throat so that all attention would be turned to him. He introduced himself as Totosai, the principal of Kokusai High. _Totosai. _Nanae let out an 'ah' as she was finally reminded of the name she could never recall. He explained the rules and informed them of important events that involved the school's participation. Nanae noticed that he repeated himself on more than one occasion, in fact, she was sure that he shouldn't even be running a school at his age, it looked like he didn't even know what planet he was on. As he mentioned the important events _again_, one of the teachers present walked over to him and whispered something in his ear, while he wore a confused expression.

"Huh? Oh, right." He said, scratching his partly bald head. The teacher moved away. Totosai cleared his throat again.

"Those students who have arrived for their freshman year at this school, please follow Ms Sakana-"

"Saikawa." Corrected the woman.

"Ah yes, Saikawa. Please follow her out of the assembly hall."

Soon a mass of teenagers were bustling out the double doors, chattering excitedly and joking around as they followed the teacher whose name Totosai had called out.

Less than half the original number of students was left in the auditorium. Nanae and Makis looked at each other nervously.

Totosai coughed lightly. "Now, those of you who have arrived for their sophomore year, please go with Mr…um…Mr…" His brow creased in effort as he tried to remember the name.

"It's Mr Yoshimura, sir."

Totosai's expression lightened. "Mr Yoshimura! How nice of you to join us! What is it you need?"

Mr Yoshimura ignored the sniggering students. "Sir, I'm here for the sophomore kids."

"Ah, yes, yes. Sophomores please follow him."

The students left the auditorium with Mr Yoshimura. By the time Totosai reached the senior students, there were only four of them left in the whole assembly hall. Nanae stole quick glances at the other two who were obviously demon, since one had bluish hair and red eyes and the other had lilac hair and pink ones.

"Seniors, please leave with Ms Saikawa-"

"Sir, Ms Saikawa's gone with the students in freshman year." Said the only teacher left in the auditorium.

Totosai frowned. "She did? Oh." He scratched his chin. "And who are you?"

"Mrs Morimitsu."

"Excellent, excellent. Seniors here please." Said Totosai with a smile. The four students stood from their seats and made their way to the front. Mrs Morimitsu nodded at them and led them out of the auditorium. The corridors that had previously been jam packed with people were now empty and silent apart from the echoing sound of their own footsteps. Mrs Morimitsu spoke to them while she walked ahead.

"You have to understand that principal Totosai…well, he's not as _sane _as he used to be, if sane is the correct word."

Nanae's eyebrow shot up. _ The principal is a madman?_

She heard Makis gulp. "You mean the school is being run by a loon?" the girl asked incredulously. Nanae stared at Makis. Her friend sure was blunt.

Mrs Morimitsu shook her head as she walked on. "I think I gave you the wrong idea. Totosai isn't crazy, he's just…old. Old people forget things, even old demons do. And Totosai's been around for a long, long time. I can't remember if it was eight centuries or nine…" She finished thoughtfully.

Nanae's jaw dropped. She knew about demons and their extended life spans but still, hearing about it shocked her. How can someone live so long and not eventually get tired of life itself? She could hear Makis breathe a 'wow'.

They arrived at an empty classroom where they were filled in on other information that Totosai had failed to supply. As she spoke, Morimitsu handed out their timetables and explained what the extracurriculars were. She was interrupted by three lengthy beeps that signalled the end of registration time. Out on the corridor students streamed out of their classrooms and to their lockers. Mrs Morimitsu ushered the four students out of the room that was seemingly her own and wished them luck on their first day.

Nanae and Makis quickly compared their schedules and both nearly cried out with despair upon seeing how completely different the lessons were. They had been hoping and praying to stick together but it seemed fate had other plans for them. Makis gave her friend a quick hug and set off to find her classroom.

Nanae would have sighed if she hadn't been so violently shoved to one side. The corridors were absolutely chaotic and no one with Nanae's gentle nature could ever hope to survive. With her jaw set in determination, she proceeded to push and shove her way through the crowd in order to find her classroom.

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Nanae plonked down into a seat and sighed with exhaustion. It had taken one hell of a time to finally find the place. As soon as the room was full the teacher closed the door and stood at his desk. The classroom was large, the desks were not organized in separate rows but pushed together to form half a rectangle and each desk had space enough for two people.

The teacher clapped his hands together enthusiastically.

"Well kids, another wonderful year at school, how about that?"

He chuckled at the groans and remarks thrown back at him. "Come on, it'll be great! I promise this year will change you all."

Many people let out cynical laughs. Nanae was one of them.

"Okay! My name is Mr Sakamoto and I'm your Japanese and Literature teacher. Feel free to call me Sensei or Great Lord of Language, either title is fine with me."

Nanae giggled, this guy was alright.

Mr Sakamoto began to hand out blank sheets of paper. "Now, since I don't know all of you or what you're capable of, I'd like each of you to write a short composition. It will be a poem of whatever you like but…it must have two verses and each verse will be of twelve lines in length." He ignored the protests and continued, "Anyone who fails to do this will receive double homework, understood?"

Despite the grumbles, Mr Sakamoto smiled brightly at his students. "Okay! Begin please!"

Nanae picked up her pen and held it over the paper. She sighed. Japanese and Literature was one of her favourite subjects after art and many people told her that she was good at it, but she could never write something out of the blue like this. Usually she would get sudden inspiration and rush around for something to write with. She began to feel panicky as she saw everyone concentrated on their work and scribbling their poems down.

She quickly bent her head and began to think. What to write about…? She chewed the tip of her pen anxiously.

_As the soft moonlight surrounds the square_

_As the cool breeze whips through my hair…No! Too rhymey! _

Nanae took the pen out of her mouth and tapped it softly against the sheet of paper.

_Why attempt to gaze beyond this illusory world,_

_When even the moon leaves a reflection on the water?...hmmm, not sure but it'll have to do for now._

She started to write down the first two lines of her poem when she accidentally bumped elbows with the student sitting on her left, causing them to write a rather strange looking letter 'r'. The student, a girl with long black hair and a ghostly complexion, glared at her. She clicked her tongue against her teeth and crumpled up the sheet on which she had been writing some peculiar form of death poetry.

"I'm so sorry, it's just that I'm-" Nanae began.

"Is there a problem over there?" Said Mr Sakamoto, glancing up from the book he was reading. Nanae didn't know what to say, she just hoped the girl next to her wouldn't say anything incriminating. Mr Sakamoto looked at Nanae and then at the pale girl.

"Kikyo? Something wrong?"

The girl named Kikyo shrugged and jerked her head in Nanae's direction. "She jogged me, I need another piece of paper."

Mr Sakamoto looked at Nanae inquiringly. Nanae shook her head. "I didn't do it on purpose, it's just that I'm left handed so our elbows kinda…well, bump."

"Ah." Said Mr Sakamoto nodding his head understandingly. "Unfortunately, you're going to have to get used to it…unless there are any other left handed students here to switch places with Kikyo…" he looked around. Everyone was seemingly right handed.

"Nope, sorry about that. Just…do what you can." He said, and went back to his book. Nanae sighed and returned to her poetic attempts as Kikyo went to get another piece of paper.

When the three beeps sounded at the end of the first period, all poems were handed in and thankfully, no one received double homework…or any homework for that matter. Nanae searched through her jean pockets for her schedule and nearly jumped with excitement when she saw what she had for second period. _Art_.

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Never before had she seen so many people crowded in one space. Nanae was impatient to get to Art class but all the students in the way were preventing her from getting there.

"Um, excuse me…please." She said, rising up onto her tiptoes to see above the mass of heads. No one paid her any attention. She tried again.

"I-I need to get past, could you please excuse me?"

Again, no heed was paid. She took a deep breath. "Can someone let me through?" she cried, but it was hopeless for amongst the general chatter and babble of the crowd, her voice was lost. There was only one thing for it…brute force.

She began gently at first and without results, soon she was pushing and shoving just as hard as any student in the corridor, excuse me's and sorry's forgotten. As she progressed, she could just see the number on the classroom door but there were still many obstacles in the way. One of them was a very tall…_demon? _Anyway a very tall someone with very long and very silver hair with their back to her. She was being completely squashed by book bags and other students and her only option was to continue forward but the guy in front of her didn't even seem to want to budge. She sighed in frustration and tried to squeeze through the small space he was leaving.

"Excuuuuuse me!"

She almost literally popped through the gap after much pushing and made it to the Art classroom.

Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru tried his best to catch a glimpse of who ever had dared shove him to one side in that manner but it proved extremely difficult since all the parts of his body were being squished by the crowd surrounding him. He detested such close contact, especially with humans, hell; he hated it when demons came within a metre without his permission. He had to constantly remind himself that he was leaving school _veeeeery_ soon. Or think of his little Rin. Both options were valid.

OooOooOooOoo

"For those of you who don't know me, I'm Ms Saikawa, I'll be teaching art as I have done for a year now at this school."

Nanae recognised her as the same teacher from the auditorium whose name had been replaced by that of 'Sakana' by Totosai. Ms Saikawa was fairly young, in her mid thirties at most with short brown hair and a wonderfully freckled face. She dressed casually and gesticulated constantly giving the impression of a person who thoroughly loved what they did and showed enthusiasm for their work. Nanae wished she could be that carefree.

The Art room was different from the other few classrooms Nanae had seen, instead of desks there was just one large, circular, mahogany table situated in the middle of the room with chairs placed around it. Nanae sat comfortably wedged between two students, one on either side.

Ms Saikawa rubbed her hands together earnestly. "Right! I'm hoping to see new talent here! Everyone is going to draw this," she gestured toward a bowl of fruit sitting on her desk, "bowl of fruit, to be handed in at the end of the lesson. It's so I can see who can indeed draw and who…well…can't."

She looked at the many students sitting at the table until she found one she recognised. She smiled. "Ah, Hojo. Could you kindly place the bowl at the centre of the table please?"

Before he could stand up Ms Saikawa continued, "Ah! Before we begin, does anyone have any questions or anything they'd like to ask me?"

Nanae sat a little straighter. _Should I mention that I'm left handed? I don't really want to jog anyone else. Okay, I'll tell her_. Nanae raised a hand. Ms Saikawa looked at her brightly.

"Yes?"

Nanae shifted in her seat nervously. "Um. Yes, well…I'm left handed so…" Nanae gestured with her hand at her elbow and at the person sitting at her left. "It'll be awkward…"

Ms Saikawa smiled. "Oh okay. Is anyone else here left handed?" She asked the class. Nanae turned to see but her view was obscured by someone's head. Still, she could just catch a glimpse of a single raised hand.

"Very well, could you bring your things and swap seats with this student please?" asked Ms Saikawa as she pointed to the person sitting beside Nanae. Nanae heard no sound of movement from the other person but Ms Saikawa gave whoever it was a stern look.

"_Now_ please."

Nanae heard a chair being slowly scraped back. Ms Saikawa nodded in approval.

Nanae stared at her blank sheet of paper. _Great, now they're gonna hate me for making them sit here. Nanae, can't you do anything right?_

"May I have your name?" Asked Ms Saikawa. Nanae could hear the person's footsteps slow a moment.

"Taiyoukai." Said a deep, masculine voice. Nanae looked up and gazed upon the most gorgeous being in the whole universe. Her heart seemed to stop for just a millisecond of a moment. _Wow_.

"Is there a first name that goes with that?"

The walking work of art gave an irritated sigh. "Sesshoumaru."

"Very well then. Sesshoumaru you'll be sitting here." Ms Saikawa said gesturing at the now empty seat beside Nanae.

"Okay, now remember, these are your seats for the rest of the year. I like organization. Plus if anyone changes seats, it'll throw the whole atmosphere of the room out of balance." She said, smiling as a few students chuckled.

Sesshoumaru sat himself down in the chair and glowered at the art teacher. Nanae continued staring at her sheet of paper no matter how badly she wanted another peek at the handsome creature beside her.

Ms Saikawa clapped her hands. "Right! Hojo! Fruit bowl on table!"

Eager to please, Hojo rushed to her desk, grabbed the bowl and practically ran back to the table, tripping over a chair leg in the process. He fell to the floor and the bowl of fruit flew up in the air and smashed as it hit the ground a few feet from his head. The room was filled with laughter and Hojo miserably picked himself off the floor and trudged to his seat. Ms Saikawa shushed the class.

"Okay, since there's no bowl anymore," she began and frowned as more sniggers broke out, "How about everyone turn to the person sitting next to them and sketch their portrait?"

She ignored the groans and smiled cheerfully. "That's great, now let's get started!"

The sounds of chairs scraping around and sheets of paper being waved about, followed. Nanae turned nervously to her partner who moved his chair slowly to face her. He looked very bored. Nanae placed her piece of paper on her sketchpad and leaned it on her lap, her eyes never leaving the safety of the blank sheet. She could hear faint movements on Sesshoumaru's part and she could only assume he was getting out his pen and paper.

"You're going to have to look at me sometime if you wish to finish my portrait…or indeed start it."

She almost jumped when he spoke and her eyes flew to his face involuntarily. She met intense amber eyes that could burn through anything yet still manage to hold in an icy gleam. Being of weak character, Nanae lowered her gaze almost immediately.

Sesshoumaru lip quirked upwards for a second. He had flustered her. He cleared his throat to catch Nanae's attention so that he could begin to sketch her.

After a few minutes, Nanae was feeling a little less tense since the most they were doing was concentrating on their drawings. She had never, ever drawn a demon before, nor seen one up this close. She wondered if all demons had markings like his. She sketched the indigo crescent moon on Sesshoumaru's forehead and started on his bangs. She noticed he had a slight feminine look but it wasn't so obscenely evident, just some subtle features suggested it. The only really evident thing was that he was extremely good looking; his silvery bangs fell into eyes with a sort of casual elegance that Nanae could never hope to capture on paper.

She felt uncomfortable though, every time his eyes flickered up to her face and then back at his sheet of paper. She shifted in her seat uneasily, but seeing Sesshoumaru scowl slightly at her movement made her stop.

"Okay! Time's up! Now, before you hand the drawings over to me, I want you to firstly share them with your partners, let's see if you like your portraits or not." Grinned Ms Saikawa, waggling her eyebrows.

Nanae heard Sesshoumaru give a 'hmph' before he handed his drawing to her. She passed him hers and at the same time received his sheet of paper. She peered at it, her heart thudding, she'd never seen her portrait drawn by anyone else. Sesshoumaru's portrait of her was amazing, she could tell he'd done this sort of thing for quite a while. She noticed his pen was the same as hers and yet he'd got it to swoop and spiral with such style, placing the figure on the paper with such confidence, a bold outline, immense detail with the hair, even capturing that sadness that always resided in her eyes. She breathed out. She wished could draw like that, she had always taken for granted the fact that she was good at art but now she finally met someone to steal that top spot.

"This is really good." She told him breathlessly. She watched Sesshoumaru's eyes scan her drawing quickly.

"Hm."

Nanae blinked at him. "What?"

He put down the piece of paper and his intense gaze clashed with hers.

"It's an average portrait." He in a bored tone, one that matched his expression. Nanae's eyebrows shot upwards.

"What do you mean average?" She asked, feeling a little offended. Sesshoumaru frowned, seeing that he would have to explain himself to her.

"I _mean…_your style needs fine tuning and you need to improve your sense of line."

Nanae opened her mouth and closed it again. _That hurt._

He returned the drawing to her and reached over to get his, just when the signal for the end of lessons sounded. Ms Saikawa called for all the drawings to be handed to her before everyone left the classroom. Nanae was one of the last to go as she handed her sketch to Ms Saikawa. She still thought back on what Sesshoumaru had told her, feeling a little resentful.

_No sense of line. No sense of line! Idiot, I have a perfect sense of line. As for style…I've got style! The moron just can't see it! _Nanae though angrily as she went to find her locker. _And here's me actually thinking great things about his drawing. Damn him. I guess I found a perfect example of the saying 'Good looks aren't everything'._

OooOooOooOoo

A/N: Sorry for the slow update people, public exams y'know. I get my results this month and I'm so nervous. Okay, I think things are beginning to get a little interesting and if you think so too please let me know by leaving your comments. 'preciate it!


	8. Mr Hot Taiyoukai

Hey peeps! A big thank you to those who reviewed, I'm glad to know that people are reading my humble little story. So sorry for the looooooooong wait but I put my other story 'Theme park Thrill' on my priority list since it's receiving more reviews. Plus, school's been so hectic since I'm leaving it (finally) to go to university and I have to go to the bank and stuff to pay for it with my parents because I'm still seventeen and useless at college stuff. Anyways, thanks to Viperthe strange for reviewing and giving me the motivation I need for this story and to Thoughts13 for all the encouragement. Thanks guys!

**Disclaimer: **

**Chapter 8: Mr Hot Taiyoukai**

Nanae left the Maths classroom at the end of lessons and headed off to the lockers, squinting at the little scrap of paper on which was scribbled her combination and locker number. Fighting the current of students pouring through the corridors on their way to lunch, Nanae managed to reach her locker and she grabbed on to it for dear life as she nearly got swept away by a crowd of people.

She did her best to work the combination and fight against the current and she eventually managed to open her locker and stuff her books in. just as she slammed it shut she heard a voice call her and turning around, she spotted Makis' arm waving above the seas of heads. Nanae smiled at the sight.

Makis arrived at her side, panting. "Phew! There's quite a traffic jam in here!"

Nanae nodded, grinning. She leant against her locker and waited for Makis, and observed the students in the corridor to pass the time. The crowds were thinner now, since most people were in the lunch hall, but Nanae could still see large groups of people wandering along. She managed to catch a bit of one groups' conversation. The person speaking was a young girl, of probably fifteen, with raven black hair and large brown eyes, and was talking animatedly to her friend, who nodded and smiled at time to time.

"…So I put my hand up and said 'forty-eight' and would you believe it, Sango? That was the answer!"

"Wow, Kagome I think your algebra is improving!"

"Hey! Are you implying that I was bad to start with?"

The two girls giggled. The girl called Kagome spoke. "Sango?"

"Yeah?"

"It's great that they've put us together, it would have been so scary starting high school by myself."

"Kagome, you need to toughen up." Sango said with a grin.

Kagome pouted and then laughed, linking arms with Sango and heading off to the lunch hall.

Nanae watched them leave and then moved to the next group of people but a flash of silver caught her attention. She squinted at the guy standing in front of his locker but it wasn't who she initially thought it was. She couldn't help feeling relieved. She frowned as she looked at this guy a second time; something was not quite _human_ about him. Well, of course not quite human since it was a school of mixed kinds, but this person was even more out of place. It had to be those triangular shaped dog-like ears perched on the top of his head. Nanae blinked. _Dog-like ears?_

…They were so cute!

The guy then turned around and met with who Nanae assumed was his friend, who had black hair tied in a small ponytail at the base of his neck. As soon as the silver-haired boy turned around, Nanae gasped. She had seen him before! She was almost sure of it. And now that he was speaking she was certain she had heard that raspy voice somewhere. She began to delve deep into her memory to find where she had actually seen or met him.

A loud slam jerked her back to the corridor and she looked up, seeing Makis' smiling face.

"Okay! Let's go eat!"

Nanae nodded and as she headed off to the cafeteria she stole a backwards glance at the silver-haired guy but found that he and his friend had already gone.

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As the two girls sat down to feast on burger, fries and salad, they told each other about what they had done that morning. Well, Makis did most of the talking while Nanae nodded and automatically smiled when she did. She was usually interested in what Makis had to say but today her mind was floating off into the beyond and thinking mostly on silver-haired people. She wondered if the guy in the corridor and the one in the art room were possibly related. She suddenly remembered what the latter had said to her…_no sense of line_. Who was he to criticize her art? He had no right to, he didn't know her! And to think she had complimented his drawing first! Back was the feeling of resentment towards his comment and Nanae became angry with herself for not answering back to him with a quick and clever remark. She hated not knowing essential things like that.

So suddenly was she filled with this righteous anger that, hardly conscious of what she was doing, she slammed her can of Pepsi upon the table, making the liquid fizz and spill upon the surface. Makis jumped in her seat and immediately stopped talking to look at her with surprised eyes.

"Nanae? What's wrong?"

Nanae scowled. There was no point in keeping it to herself and besides, Makis would most definitely be on her side and raise her spirits by insisting that Nanae was the best artist in the world without a single doubt.

"Yeah, something's wrong." Nanae said. "I was in art this morning and some guy told me that the portrait I'd drawn of him was lacking in some aspects. Can you believe it!"

Makis gasped and covered her mouth. "That jerk! You draw way better than anyone I know!"

Nanae smiled at her gratefully. Makis was definitely the greatest friend she ever had, and she had successfully made most of the indignation disappear. Not all of it, but a great deal. Makis smiled back at her and started to peel the cover off a small tub of pudding. She paused halfway and looked at Nanae with a grin.

"Is he hot?"

Without even thinking her answer, her mouth formed the reply. "Very."

Makis' eyebrows shot up and she burst out laughing, her pudding forgotten. As soon as she realized what she had just said, Nanae flushed a deep red and busied herself with opening her own pudding trying to ignore the cat sounds Makis' was currently making. Well, it was true wasn't it? He was very attractive, but Nanae had previously decided to have nothing to do with him since he looked like the kind to make people of weak character feel inferior to himself and so embarrassingly useless. People of weak character…like her.

"So what's his name?"

"Huh?"

Makis sighed and rolled her eyes. "The hot jerk! What's his name?"

"Oh, um…"

And could she believe that she was unable to remember. He had said it once in art class but Nanae had been so preoccupied with the stupid seat change that she had failed to pay attention. She knew it started with an 's' though… or a 't'. Damn.

"I think it was a Sess….something. No wait, Sa…"

"Sanosuke?" piped up Makis helpfully; peeling the entire cover off her pudding and grimacing as she found that it was strawberry flavour.

Nanae stared at her own pudding, trying to remember. "No, not Sanosuke. Sessnoma…or was it Tess…Ta…"

"Can I have your pudding?" said Makis suddenly.

"Huh?"

Makis held out her strawberry pudding and nodded towards Nanae's chocolate one. Nanae blinked at the sudden change in conversation. That was so typically Makis, to grow tired over a subject that was prompted by herself in the first place.

"We can swap." suggested Makis. Nanae looked down longingly at her chocolate pudding. She was really looking forward to eating it…but how to say no?

Makis made the decision for her and reached over for the small tub replacing it with her own.

"Thanks!" she said happily and took a big spoonful. Nanae sighed and pushed the strawberry pudding away from her. She was a chocolate girl, through and through. The only problem was, so was her best friend. After a few quiet moments of mourning her pudding, Nanae's eyes suddenly opened wide.

"Taiyoukai."

Makis licked her spoon. "Hm?"

"That's his name, well, his last name any way. Taiyoukai." Nanae said.

Now that she had remembered his surname, she was having the strangest feeling of having heard it before but she just couldn't recall where…

_Taiyoukai_. Yes she was sure of it now, she had most definitely heard of it somewhere. Maybe she'd read it in the newspaper, or maybe it was mentioned to her in casual conversation. She would probably remember later, she usually did and she'd be damned if she asked the owner of the name anything about it.

As it was time to return to class, Nanae abandoned her attempts of finding the origins of where she had heard the surname and she picked up her tray to empty it of rubbish while Makis accompanied her. As they headed out of the cafeteria, Makis tapped Nanae lightly on the shoulder.

"You have to introduce me to this Taiyoukai guy sometime." Makis said playfully and Nanae rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on Makis, you've got better taste than that. Besides, a guy that looks like that probably has a girlfriend already."

Makis shrugged and grinned devilishly. "What's to say he doesn't?"

Nanae gave up and marched off. Makis ran after her. "What?" she called out.

OooOooOooOooOoo

After the pips went to signal the end of lessons for the day, Sesshoumaru left his classroom and headed for Totosai's office. The contents of the old demon's phone call were still fresh in his mind and he wanted to get all the information possible that might help in solving the mystery of his father's last case before his untimely death ten years ago. Sesshoumaru was well aware that Totosai was nowhere near mentally healthy but what he did know was that the demon had been one of his father's closest colleagues and that meant that he handled much of the information concerning any case the late Taiyoukai would have taken part in investigating.

He ignored the secretary's protests as he marched towards the door on which read 'Principal Totosai' in large, bold, black letters. He entered the office without knocking as he usually did and found Totosai sitting at his desk, opening an envelope. Totosai looked up and squinted. He smiled toothily.

"Ah, young Sesshoumaru! What can I do for you?"

Sesshoumaru stared at him. Had he already forgotten? The old bastard had been the one to tell him to have a talk in his office just the day before, and he couldn't remember? Sesshoumaru tried very hard not to jump across the desk and throttle him. That would have been very Inuyasha-like.

With much forced patience, Sesshoumaru approached Totosai's desk and placed both his hands palm-down upon the mahogany surface.

"I recall you mentioning," he began calmly, "an important matter that needed to be discussed as soon as possible?" he watched Totosai's expression to see if he indeed held any recollection of such a thing. He saw Totosai's smile falter for a moment.

"I did?"

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Totosai!" growled Sesshoumaru warningly. The old guy laughed nervously and scratched the bald part of his head.

"Forgive me young Sesshoumaru, you understand that when a man grows old-"

Sesshoumaru huffed and straightened up, turning his back on Totosai. "If you insist on continuing with this nonsense, I shall leave." He said and began to walk to the door. He heard Totosai become agitated and he smirked.

"No, Wait! Yes, I remember now, a very important matter we must discuss!"

Sesshoumaru turned around slowly, his smirk still in place. "Really?"

Totosai nodded his head vigorously and he gestured to the vacant seat before his desk which Sesshoumaru went up and took. Resting his left ankle comfortable upon his right knee, Sesshoumaru leaned forward slightly and fixed his gaze upon the old demon, smirk gone and expression completely serious.

"Tell me."

Totosai cleared his throat nervously. "Well, you see…from what information I have gathered from my sources at the police department, all traces of the demon in the coma Ryukotsei, have vanished completely from the clinic we had placed him in."

"Is he dead, then?"

Totosai shook his head. "No, a detective went there to try and find out if he was but they wouldn't tell us a thing at the clinic, so I assume he's still alive somewhere."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Because all confidential information between doctor and patient can be released only if said patient is already dead."

"Exactly". Totosai continued, "The detective did some more digging around and found a file under the name of Ryuukotsei, saying that he had been transferred elsewhere."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Transferred?"

"Yes. And I believe he was still in his coma when they moved him."

Sesshoumaru got up and began to pace the room slowly. "And when was all this discovered?"

"Two weeks ago. And the name of the place he was transferred to isn't in the records so I'm guessing it must be a private treatment centre and one that probably isn't even legal."

Sesshoumaru paused in the middle of the office. "So…am I to understand that Ryuukotsei, my father's killer, is lounging around in some expensive clinic, lost from the world and possibly planning a comeback?" he said, his voice dangerously calm.

"No need to fret, Sesshoumaru, we are certain he's still fast asleep and won't be waking any time soon.

Sesshoumaru faced him with burning amber eyes. "How can you be so sure?"

Totosai shifted in his seat. That intense golden gaze always made him uncomfortable. Mostly because it reminded him of his late friend, Inutaisho, and seeing Sesshoumaru stare at him like that made him feel a little uneasy since it seemed as though the dead commanding officer was living again, but through his son. The old demon shook the feeling off.

"Well, I'm not sure of actually _being_ sure but there has been no cause for concern among the police force."

"Yet." Sesshoumaru said. He walked over to the chair and rested his hands upon the back of it. He stared at a stain on the mahogany desk for a while until he assessed the entire situation. Totosai watched him carefully. Sesshoumaru then straightened and strode to the door, opening it and looking back at the demon sitting at the desk.

"You'll keep me informed." He ordered. Totosai blinked at him and a look of confusion spread along his face.

"Informed of what?"

"Ryuukotsei."

"Who?"

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes in annoyance before leaving the office and slamming the door. Very loudly.

Totosai chuckled. One thing was for sure, Sesshoumaru definitely had inherited Inutaisho's temper.

OooOooOooOooOoo

As soon as Nanae arrived at her apartment with Makis, she dashed to the bathroom to change her tampon because she was feeling extremely uncomfortable and had been all day. Why her body had chosen to impose this monthly feminine occurrence on her now was a mystery to her. She hated having irregular periods and they just seemed to creep up on her at the most unexpected (and often embarrassing moments) and what was worse; the cramps clenched at her whole lower body and kept her in bed with a hot water bottle clutched to her abdomen.

She left the bathroom and groaned as she felt the squeezing pains start up in her lower tummy. She trudged to the kitchen and fumbled around through the cabinets beneath the sink for the bright green (Makis' choice) hot water bottle and she started heating up water in the electric kettle. Makis was sitting on the couch watching television, eating a bar of chocolate and Nanae went to flop down beside her, grabbing a cushion and hugging it tightly against her stomach. Makis made a sympathetic, yet barely audible sound, since her mouth was full of chocolate and rubbed her friend's shoulder.

"Is it really bad this month?" She asked, after swallowing. Nanae nodded. All she wanted to do was curl up into a foetal position and stay like that for the rest of the day. At least the cramps started when she'd gotten to the apartment and not at school, which was a plus. Sort of.

The electric made a small clicking sound and Nanae hauled herself off the couch. Dropping the cushion, she plodded to the kitchen and readied the hot water bottle. She heard a shriek of laughter from the sitting room as she placed the welcome heat on her stomach.

"Hey, Nanae! Come and see this!" Called Makis. Nanae merely groaned a 'no' and slowly traipsed to her bedroom to have a lie down. She began to try and find a comfortable position on her bed and failed, the pains continued to plague her. She sighed and opted for lying on her back and just staring at the ceiling. She began to wonder why men couldn't menstruate and get pregnant. It would save women a lot of suffering.

Why did women have to go through such hardships anyway? What had they done to deserve it? It was always painful for them, menstruation cramps, contractions at the end of ninth months pregnancy…even having sex was painful, or so Nanae had heard since she'd never experienced it before. And still there were a lot of men around the world treating women like dirt. Nanae often admired those hardworking wives who had kids and jobs and could do everything at once like cooking, cleaning, washing, mending etc, without complaints. It was funny to see any man try and do the same and be okay about it. If she were to get married, her husband would definitely know how to help around the house, especially in the kitchen area given that she was absolutely useless when it came to cuisine.

Nanae began to wonder if her mother ever had problems around the house. According to her uncle, she was the perfect wife, the perfect mother and the perfect sister who utterly radiated serenity. She wished she could remember more about her, even though she was eight when her mother died, she hardly spent time with her since her illness was a demanding one and needed constant treatment that took a lot of time.

Her mother must have been a strong person. Nanae was sure of it. She remembered how she used to beg and plea for her mother to play a game with her and even though the woman tired and sick she always found time and strength for her only daughter. Nanae wanted that force, the force that always pulled through no matter what the situation, no matter what the weather, she wished she could possess spontaneity and that spark that could attract any opportunity that flew by. But noooo, she had to be the introverted one, the quiet one, the careful one, the forgiving one. Not that there was anything wrong with that, it was just that she wanted to be more, and give more, not always taking the blows and shrinking away in the corner.

Nanae sighed. She _really _hated this time of the month, her hormones were all over the place and it made it difficult to think straight without feeling some sporadic emotion pop up somewhere.

"Nanae! Remember it's your turn to cook dinner tonight!" yelled Makis from the couch.

Nanae turned and muffled a groan with her pillow. She'd forgotten all about that.

"Nanaaaaaaaaaaeeee! Did you hear what I said?"

Nanae raised herself into a sitting position, still clutching the hot water bottle to her abdomen, mumbling in annoyance and groaning with pain. She took a deep breath.

"Can't we just order something!" she cried, loud enough for Makis to hear through the closed door of her bedroom.

"'Kay then, how about pizza?"

"Pizza's fine!"

"I'll phone them then!"

"Great!"

"Um…Nanae!"

"What!"

"Why don't you just open the door, then we won't have to scream at each other!"

Makis grinned when she heard nothing but silence from Nanae's bedroom.

"Shut up!" Nanae yelled after a while. Makis laughed and went to the phone to start dialling.

OooOooOooOooOoo

The young man, Ryuusei sat at his father's bedside, his head nodding over his crossed arms. He hadn't slept for three days caring for his father, the demon Ryuukotsei. He had worked very hard to have his father accepted into the private clinic, working with his men, overseeing the drug trades, organizing quiet assassinations, making deals with the cops…all the things his father had done before he was sent into a ten year coma. Ryuusei did all of this and more, as he searched tirelessly for an object that was as precious to his father as the oxygen he breathed. The Shikon no Tama.

Ryuukotsei shifted into a more comfortable lying position on the hospital bed and observed his son. Ryuusei looked exactly like him, the same sleek, black hair held up in a ponytail, pale skin with a greenish tinge at the cheeks and at the tips of the pointy ears, light green eyes with slit pupils, slender and not too muscled build…a perfect dragon demon specimen. Ryuukotsei watched as his son's head nodded lower over his chest. He smirked.

"Go home and get some sleep." He said.

Ryuusei jumped, startled and then shook his head firmly. "No, I'm going to stay here until the doctor sees it fit to discharge you."

Ryuukotsei chuckled and lifted himself into a sitting position. Ryuusei immediately stood and assisted him, pulling the pillow up against his father's back. Ryuukotsei thanked him and as his son sat down, a nurse bustled in to check the older demon's vitals and the IV that was stuck in his arm.

After a couple of minutes the nurse straightened with an approving smile.

"Well, sir, I see no reason why we should keep you here any longer, your condition is a lot more than stable." She said, picking up the chart she'd left at the foot of his bed and flicking through it.

"I'll just show this to your doctor and we'll have your paperwork ready by tomorrow."

Ryuusei's eyebrows shot up. "He'll be discharged tomorrow?"

The nurse nodded in confirmation. She left the room.

Ryuukotsei lay back on his pillow. "Thank the gods for that. This private system is leeching off my dishonestly earned money."

His son chuckled. Then his expression turned serious. He wondered about how he was going to mention the news to his father, news involving his enemy and his kin. He knew he should wait until they were home but these days, home just wasn't the safest place anymore. He had checked weekly for bugs and hidden cameras and even though he had found none, he still couldn't take the risk of trusting anyone.

"What is it son? You seem preoccupied."

Ryuusei looked up at his father and then down again, shifting in his seat. "It's nothing father."

"Ryuusei, don't lie to me. I've been in a coma for ten years and I deserve to know what's been going on since then."

Ryuusei sighed heavily and leaned forward. "It's about…Inutaisho, the one who did this to you." He said in a low voice.

He watched his father stiffen. "What about that bastard." He growled.

"Well, you managed to cause his death." Ryuusei said. Ryuukotsei said nothing and just looked at him in surprise. He then smirked.

"I did? Well I wasn't expecting that. I thought I just injured him bad."

Ryuusei shook his head. "He died from those injuries."

"Well, how about that. I got lucky then, at least I woke up, didn't I?"

Ryuukotsei chuckled deeply. That was the best news he'd heard since, well…since he'd last been awake. He looked at his son and wondered why he wasn't as glad.

"Son?" he enquired. Ryuusei stared at a bit of fluff on the hospital bedcovers. He glanced up at his father's face and he took a deep breath.

"Well, you see…Inutaisho and his human mate are dead but…His two sons…"

"Don't you dare tell me they're still alive." Ryuukotsei growled dangerously.

"…They're alive."

"DAMNIT!"

"Look father, I'm sorry-"

Ryuukotsei shot his son a fierce glare, "Don't you blame yourself for this! I _specifically_ told my men to murder them all while I took care of the commanding officer, and they let them _escape_? Now they're sure to meddle with my plans!" he shouted, struggling against the IV.

Ryuusei needed to calm his father down; if the nurse saw him like this he would never be discharged the next day. He rushed to Ryuukotsei's side and pushed him firmly back against the pillow.

"Please, father you must calm yourself."

Ryuukotsei eventually stopped struggling and rested back. "I'm sorry, son."

Ryuusei sat back down but watched his father anxiously in case he were to have another tantrum. Ryuukotsei caught this and laughed.

"I'm going to be fine son." He smiled. Ryuusei nodded uncertainly.

"Seriously. You'll see…once I have the Shikon no Tama in my possession, _everything_ will be fine. I guarantee it."

And both father and son grinned, plans forming in both their devious minds.


	9. Enter Kyouji the Hanyou

Hey people! Firstly, I want to thank **Thoughts13 **and **Viperthe strange** for their constant reviews, you guys rock! Sorry for leaving this story on the side, I've had so many things to do, what with starting university and all. But I never abandon my stories, I might take long updating but I always remember to update.

**Disclaimer:** I may not own Inuyasha (and I'm so jealous of the person who does) but I do claim ownership of Kyouji the hanyou, Nanae and Makis. So there. Bleh.

**Chapter 9: Enter Kyouji, the Hanyou**

Nanae took a deep breath before entering the art classroom. For the first time in her entire life she was facing an art lesson she was sure she wouldn't enjoy. As soon as she set a foot inside the room she spotted the white head of the Taiyoukai guy whose first name she could never remember.

She took her seat next to him and glanced at him. He was observing her, his amber eyes fixed upon her form. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, feeling a little edgy and self conscious. His scrutinizing gaze suddenly lifted off her and she immediately felt relieved.

"Okay class," began the art teacher, Ms Saikawa, "I have you guys for two periods, don't I?" she said, glancing down at her timetable. Indeed, she had this class for two hours, one before lunch and one after. She looked up at the students, waiting patiently for everyone to settle down around the large table.

When they were all in their seats she began. She picked up the pile of drawings from her desk and started handing them out.

"I looked at these portraits and I have to say, I was expecting a little more from all of you."

Nanae couldn't help glancing at the white haired demon beside her. Had he been right in saying her style needed fine tuning? Ms Saikawa continued.

"But still, I saw quite a bit of talent in a few pieces of work. I've marked them all and put comments on how to improve." She said.

Ms Saikawa passed Nanae and handed her back her portrait. Nanae distinctly heard the teacher say,

"Excellent job Sesshoumaru, well done!"

_Sesshoumaru. That was it._ Nanae thought, also feeling a little irked at not being told anything about her own sketch. She looked down at it and noticed the score on the top left hand corner of the sheet. Nine out of ten. _Nine_. Below the score was a scribbled comment from Ms Saikawa.

_Nice job, you need to develop your style and sense of line but other than that, I see some great potential in you!_

Nanae could hardly believe what she was reading. That Sesshoumaru had been right! She felt very annoyed and slightly hurt at how her artistic skills had been demeaned. She had always considered herself a good artist and she never questioned all the compliments she had been showered with. Maybe that was it, she had gotten used to being told she was good and now a nice, cold criticism had brought her out of her bubble to face real challenges. Challenges that were sitting right next to her.

She took a peeking glance at Sesshoumaru's sketch and was outraged to find that he had scored a beautiful, perfect ten out of ten with no other comment from Ms Saikawa except for the '_Excellent!_' scribbled beside the score.

Sesshoumaru noticed her staring at his sketch in disbelief and he casually stole a glance at hers.

"Hm." He said.

Nanae looked at him. "What?"

He leaned back in his chair. "I was right."

She opened her mouth and then closed it again indignantly. She couldn't think of anything witty or biting to say to him so she just sat there, silently fuming at him and at her utter hopelessness.

"Okay everyone," began Ms Saikawa, as she went behind her desk and sifted through some papers, "Since I don't have my register yet, I'll get to the important work in the period after lunch." She looked up and smiled. "So, you can all just discuss your sketches or talk about something at least related to art for the rest of this lesson while I pop over to Totosai's office to get a hold of my register. Behave now, people."

And with that she left the art room. All of the students were silent for a couple of minutes and then the general chatter started. Of course, no one was discussing anything remotely to do with art.

Nanae stared at the smooth surface of the table, considering to be a safer option than to look at the guy sitting beside her. Both of them sat in an incredibly uncomfortable silence, Nanae not feeling up to talking to him and Sesshoumaru refusing to open his mouth for some completely trivial cause. They stayed that way throughout the whole period. Nanae occasionally shifted in her seat but Sesshoumaru didn't seem to move at all.

Nanae almost passed out with relief when the pips signalled the end of lessons and she hurriedly began packing her sketchbook into her bag so that she could leave Sesshoumaru's side. Just as she was about to get up she heard his bored voice.

"I must say human, you make astounding conversation."

This time Nanae wheeled around, not noticing her sketchbook fall to the floor, and she answered him.

"Well you didn't exactly exchange either!"

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow and he slowly stood, towering over her. Nanae couldn't help feeling a little intimidated. He stared at her with his intense golden eyes.

"So, you do speak." he said in smooth, sarcastic tones. Nanae felt a pang of annoyance and she tore her gaze away from his face, feeling the burn of his eyes a little too much. She turned away from him and pointedly told him she was going to lunch and left the art room hastily before he said anything else.

She couldn't believe that guy! She hated him so much already, even though he hadn't done that much to completely piss her off, but he was sure as hell getting close. She barrelled her way through the crowd to try and make it to the cafeteria, gripping her bag tightly.

_I wonder why it feels so light_, she thought and with one hand she felt inside realizing that her precious sketchbook was missing. _Damnit!_ She thought angrily. She had been paying too much attention to that Sesshoumaru to check all of her stuff. She turned around with difficult and began to fight against the strong current of people in the corridors that were seemingly all heading for lunch.

Nanae cursed under breath as she was bashed about, and growled when someone stepped on the heel of her shoe, making it slip halfway off her foot. She bent down as best she could to put it back on and when she straightened up, she felt the slightest tap on her shoulder.

With the crowds less thick than a few moments ago she was able to turn around fully, and her gaze caught with her precious sketchbook.

"Oh my God, you have it!" she said, receiving it gratefully and slipping it inside her bag. She then looked up at the person who had found it and she was almost too late in her efforts of preventing her jaw from dropping to the ground.

"Yeah, I saw you drop it so I thought I'd just return it to you." Replied a very tall, very handsome young man. He had hair that was a dark red, almost mahogany and was swept up in a sexily untidy ponytail; he had the most profound ocean blue eyes Nanae had ever seen and a smile more dazzling than sunshine. She immediately noticed that he was a demon as she discovered he had delicately pointed ears and fangs hidden in his smile.

"Are you going for lunch?" He asked. Nanae opened her mouth and closed it stupidly, opting for a simple nod to let him know that she was. He offered to keep her company and she was too dazed to even object.

"I'm Kyouji by the way. Harada Kyouji." He told her. Nanae forced her mouth to open so that she could speak.

"I'm Tanaka Nanae."

"Nanae? That's a pretty name."

Nanae could only nod in reply.

They reached the cafeteria and they both grabbed trays. Nanae wondered why he was deciding to stick by her, she didn't consider herself much of a catch. Maybe it was for another reason but she couldn't think of any at that moment because her mind was overwhelmed by the great smelling cologne he was wearing. As they headed for a table, Nanae began scouring the place for Makis. Nanae always did everything and met everyone with Makis, partially because her friend had enough spunk and confidence for the both of them and also because Nanae was hopeless at handling any situation remotely like this one.

"Who are you looking for?"

Nanae jumped a little and turned to him. "Sorry, it's just that I was supposed to meet my friend and…" She trailed off.

Kyouji nodded in understanding and to Nanae's horror he began to get to his feet.

"Stupid me, I guess. I should have known you'd have friends to sit with." He said, a tiny hint of disappointment in his voice. Nanae didn't know what to do.

"No no no! I didn't say that to get rid of you or anything! I'm just new at this school, so me and my friend stick together at lunch times because we don't know anyone else." She explained, hoping he would sit back down and keep her company. She'd never had a guy take an interest in her before and she didn't want this experience to be short lived.

She saw him hesitate. "Are you sure you want me here?" he asked uncertainly.

Nanae gave him a small smile. "You rescued my sketchbook, think of it as a way of repaying you."

He seemed to be more at ease after she said that and once again he sat down. he opened his soda bottle and sipped at the drink and Nanae, not knowing what else to do, picked up some fries and nibbled on them. Having this great looking guy sitting opposite her was a little nerve wracking and her appetite was especially affected, se wasn't feeling at all hungry. She half wished she could be more like Makis.

Kyouji gestured to her bag on the seat beside her. "I took the liberty of flicking through your sketchbook."

Nanae swallowed her fries. "You did?" she asked nervously. Kyouji nodded and picked up a fry from his plate.

"I have to say, you're pretty good. I can only dream of that kind of talent."

Nanae felt all warm and squishy inside. He liked her drawings? He considered that she had talent? She was beginning to really like him. He was nothing like Sesshoumaru, who had plainly told her she had a lot to improve when it came to art. She wondered what Kyouji would have to say about that.

"Well, there are those who think otherwise about my skills." She said. Kyouji raised both eyebrows.

"May I ask who so that I can kindly kick their asses?"

Nanae giggled, earning another dazzling smile from the young man.

"Just some guy called Sesshoumaru."

Kyouji's smile left his face. "Sesshoumaru?" he asked her. Nanae nodded, taking a sip of Coke. Kyouji frowned.

"Hm. Maybe I won't be kicking any asses."

"Why?"

"Let's just say Sesshoumaru's isn't exactly…fond of hanyous."

Nanae put down her Coke. "Wait. You know Sesshoumaru? And hang on, aren't you a demon?"

Kyouji gave her a sad smile. "Tecnically, I am half demon. Wolf demon might I add. But that doesn't mean I fall into the full demon category. Or full human for that matter. And as for Sesshoumaru, no, I don't exactly _know_ him but he's the type a guy that holds a reputation and I sure as hell would hate to run into him on a bad day."

Nanae was not finding this hard to believe. As soon as she had met Sesshoumaru there was something about him that screamed proud, arrogant bastard and she was definitely not looking forward to the art lesson after lunch.

"Heh, speak of the devil…" said Kyouji with a dry laugh. Sure enough, a tall white haired demon strode into the cafeteria alone, making his way to a table filled with more arrogant looking demons who had obviously reserved a seat for him.

Nanae watched him for a while and then went back to her food. "I don't like him." She said quietly.

Kyouji swallowed some more soda. "Neither do I, but hey, we reek of human so he probably won't like us much either."

"What?" Nanae asked, feeling a little shocked, "Does that mean to demons, I positively stink?"

Kyouji chuckled. "Not to all demons. I mean, to me…you smell wonderful."

Nanae blushed deeply and looked elsewhere. She had no idea how to handle this, she desperately need Makis. What if this guy was hitting on her? How should she react?

She busied herself with watching Sesshoumaru again, to try and take her mind of Kyouji for the moment. She saw a pink haired cat demoness creep up behind Sesshoumaru and cover his eyes with her hands. Nanae smirked when Sesshoumaru pulled her hands off in irritation only to have the demoness kiss him on the cheek and sit down in the seat beside, sensually crossing one long leg over the other.

"That's Emi."

Nanae looked at Kyouji, feeling a little embarrassed to have been caught staring at other people.

"Is it? Who's Emi?" she asked, trying to keep her blush under control.

"Sesshoumaru's girlfriend. Actually, I'm not sure what kind of relationship they have but I think the both of them are just in it for the sex."

Nanae almost choked on her fries. She was so not expecting him to say that. Especially when she was eating. She laughed with Kyouji and thought about how Makis was going to handle that information. Her friend had really been hoping Sesshoumaru would be single.

And as if her thoughts had acted as a magnet, Makis appeared at the table with a lunch tray.

"Hey, I was at the lockers searching for you!" She said with a slight pout. Nanae smiled apologetically and signalled with her eyes at Kyouji. Makis immediately brightened up.

"Oh, hi! My name's Makis, nice to meet you!"

Kyouji nodded and swallowed the rest of his soda. "I'm Kyouji." He said.

"I dropped my sketchbook and he found it for me." Said Nanae smiling at Kyouji. Makis raised her eyebrows.

"Really?"

She sat in the seat beside Kyouji and made herself comfortable. Nanae could now see what she was doing. She was going to have Kyouji fall for her, become enchanted by her womanly attributes and leave Nanae to feel sorry for herself. Nanae almost sighed out loud, Makis simply couldn't get enough of men, even one who was even the slightest bit interested in Nanae.

But Nanae was pleased (and a little surprised) to see that Kyouji was looking a little uncomfortable around Makis. Nanae silently cheered, maybe she still had a chance.

"So Kyouji," started Makis, batting her eyelashes provocatively, "What do you plan on studying after you graduate?"

Kyouji glanced at Nanae, clearly a cry for help. "Uh…well, I was thinking of something along the lines of psychology." He answered, edging his seat a little bit away from Makis, but she just closed the distance again.

Nanae was feeling a bit annoyed at this point, she wanted Makis to leave him alone. Kyouji and she had been having a great conversation before Makis had arrived and she didn't want him to be frightened off by a girl who could get any guy she wanted. Nanae's last boyfriend had been when she was thirteen, hell her last _friend_ who was a _boy_ was when she was thirteen and she wanted Kyouji to like _her,_ damnit!

Thankfully the lunch hour ended before the situation could get more uncontrollable and Makis headed off to her physics lesson, which, oddly enough was her ultimately favourite subject. Kyouji and Nanae both made their way to the art room, wondering what 'important work' Ms Saikawa had been talking about and why it couldn't have been done without the register.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

"Emi, I said _no_."

Emi pouted and pressed herself up against Sesshoumaru, purposefully letting her breasts rub his arm. Sesshoumaru firmly grabbed her arms and pulled her off of him.

"I will not discuss this with you any further." He told her coldly.

"Please, Sesshoumaru, my parents will be out of the country for the weekend." She said, ending the note with sensual tones, "I would love it if you came to visit me."

"No."

"Why not? It's not like you complained the last time we-"

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, betraying a hint of impatience. "That is enough Emi. When I feel the desire to have you remotely near me, I'll let you know."

He let go of her arms and left her standing there, fuming as he went to art class.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

Sesshoumaru sat down in his usual seat at the large art table and waited for the room to fill up. He watched the humans pour in with disdain, why he chose to stay in that school was beyond him. At least he was graduating this year and would soon be leaving this disgrace of a school. He truly detested humans, he despised them and hanyous didn't escape this treatment either. They were just as bad, and Inuyasha was a perfect example.

Sesshoumaru noticed the human girl he had exchanged few words with take the seat next to him. He stared at her for a while and then looked elsewhere. She was just as bad as the rest of them. He could tell that she felt intimidated by him, he knew he made her nervous. It was that way with all the humans he'd met so it her behaviour wasn't in the least bit surprising. Insulting her skill had been entertaining though, seeing her anger like that. He hated to admit one thing, however, when he had seen his portrait drawn by her he couldn't mistake the great likeness. She didn't even miss the cold look in his eyes. He could see that she might be a bit of a challenge, but he couldn't let her know that. Besides, he knew he was better than her, after all his skills were superior given his experience as a sketch artist but she still had talent and that was a rare quality that he hardly ever found in a human.

That still didn't mean he hated humankind any less. He still despised their stench. Although, this human girl had, in some way or another managed to lessen the smell of her humanness. This was something positive for Sesshoumaru since he would have to sit next to her for the rest of the year. Her smell reminded him of another human, someone he had known ten years ago, who always smelt of one thing. Lavender.

It was Izayoi, Inuyasha's mother and Sesshoumaru's stepmother who smelt of lavender. Even though he hated the woman who had replaced his own mother, Sesshoumaru could always tolerate her scent. But enough of thoughts that led to the past, he didn't want to think back on unnecessary events.

Ms Saikawa entered the classroom, clutching her trusty register in her hand. She ushered the students gathered around her desk back to their seats before sitting down. She waited for complete silence. When the room was quiet she began.

"Alright then. I have my register," she said holding it up, "And now I can start with the juicy stuff."

She stood up and walked around the large table. "I am going to assign you all projects. No two projects will be similar, each one is different. I have with me right now fourteen sheets of paper with a topic on each of them and a set of twenty questions concerning each topic." She paused to let the students groan. She continued, "Of course, everything is related to art. Okay now you're probably wondering, 'why the hell does she have fourteen topics if there are twenty eight of us?' well, the answer is simple; this project is not, I repeat _not_ individual. You'll have to work in pairs."

The whole class groaned again and started muttering. Nanae knew something like this was bound to happen. Since she was such a lucky girl she would probably get paired up with the sweet, gentle and caring young man sitting beside her. Nanae turned to stare at Sesshoumaru and tried to not bang her head against the table in frustration.

She then thought of Kyouji, who was sitting at another end of the table. She desperately hoped she could get paired up with him and as he caught her gaze he mouthed 'you and me' and he pointed to himself and to her. Nanae nodded, praying it would be.

Ms Saikawa went to her desk. "Now to decide on who's working with who, is the job of my trusty register." She smiled, picking it up. "Because the pairs will be organized in _alphabetical order_." She finished emphatically. More groans and protests erupted, all ignored by the art teacher. She began calling out names.

"Aoi Sakura and Anami Taro. Can one of you please come up her and get your topic?"

Nanae watched as the boy called Taro reluctantly got up from his seat. Nanae was crestfallen, she couldn't believe it was going to be in alphabetical order. Kyouji's surname was Harada and that came nowhere near Tanaka. She looked at Kyouji who was obviously thinking the same thing and shrugged because there was nothing he could do about it.

"Harada Kyouji and Heise Houjo."

Nanae watched Kyouji sigh and get up. Nanae sank in her chair, feeling disappointed. This project would have been the perfect excuse to get to know Kyouji better. Oh well, at least she wouldn't be paired up with Sesshoumaru, and that alone gave Nanae cause to be grateful.

Ms Saikawa was now going through the surnames beginning with 's'. Nanae wondered what Sesshoumaru's surname was again and then she realized with growing dread that it began with a 't'.

_Oh please God no…_

"Taiyoukai Sesshoumaru and Tanaka Nanae."

_Damnit!_

Nanae wanted to cry with frustration. How could fate do this to her? She had been so relieved thinking that she would be paired up with someone other than _him_ but destiny was so cruel. She unenthusiastically rose from her seat, seeing that the look Sesshoumaru had clearly said 'no way in hell am I getting up' and she trudged to Ms Saikawa for a sheet. She sat back down and read the title. It said '_The Renaissance'_ .

_Great._ Thought Nanae_, one of the eras most abundant in works of art. Yay._

She passed the sheet of paper to Sesshoumaru who took a look at the questions. Most of them he already knew, and he smirked with the satisfaction of this knowledge.

Ms Saikawa finished calling names out and she proceeded with explaining the terms and conditions of the project.

"I am going to give you one month and a half to do this project and the day I set for you will be the day each of these projects will be in my hands. I wanted to make that perfectly clear. Next thing, all the questions must be typed and not written by hand, kami knows some of you have the most appalling handwriting ever. Furthermore, I want examples of the period of time each of you have worked on and I don't want scribbles, I want you to apply the same rules and techniques these artists did and I am expecting completely original pieces. I will give you time to work in pairs during my art lessons but for the rest of the time you must work in each other's homes so that you can get more done in less time. I hope I have been understood."

There were mumbles and mutterings of 'yes'es just as the pips went to finalize the lesson.

Sesshoumaru pushed the sheet to Nanae's side of the table and Nanae stared at him.

"What do you want _me _to do with this?" she asked, picking it up.

"Well I certainly have no use for it, human." He said coldly. Nanae kept quiet and slipped the piece of paper into her bag and proceeded to march out of the classroom.

Sesshoumaru stared after her. She was too scared to stand up to him, that he recognised. And to think he had considered her even the slightest bit interesting. He could see now that she was just another boring addition to humanity. And for some reason, Sesshoumaru Taiyoukai felt disappointed.

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A/N. okay, another chapter done and I really hope I get more responses. I need to now what you're all thinking. This _is_ going to be a good story, I promise that. Review me!

I have no idea when the next chapter will be posted because I'm going on holiday to some lake or something for a few weeks and there are no computers there. But the chapter will be up, I swear.


	10. The Date

Hey ppl! I…am...so…sorry for the wait! I have justified reasons for my absence and they are the following: a) the usual being busy with university and everything. Since I'm only starting the teachers think I'll learn better if they pile a whole load of work for me to get through; b) I had a serious eye problem, an ulcer on my cornea, which meant no pc, no TV, no school and nothing that might put a strain on my eye. Damn contact lenses, now I have to use my stupid glasses for at least a month; c) my time on the computer is limited given my condition. Sorry about that.

Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed; **White Alchemist Taya, pinguina, Viperthe strange **(as always), **ShigoiX, InuDstories, Maki-san24, RuiUsagi. ** Love yas!

**Disclaimer**: The only things I own are my prescription eye drops and these stupid glasses. Rumiko Takahashi owns all the cool stuff.

**Chapter 10: The Date**

Nanae stormed out of art room, stuffing her art book into her bag and growling furiously when it refused to get inside. As she rammed it again and again, trying to force it in, it flew from her hands and fell upon the floor, landing in such a way that it ended up open and face down with the pages crinkled beneath its weight. Nanae grinded her teeth and forced herself to take it easy, picking up the art book and attempting in vain to smooth out the bent pages, but she got so frustrated that she just shoved it into her bag and stomped off.

She was so, very angry! And to think that she was considered an extremely tolerant person! If she was ever going to start a black list (which she felt would be very soon) Sesshoumaru would be number one on her dark list of people to murder. This was already her second week at high school and by this time she had fully expected to have the art project at least a quarter of the way done, but Sesshoumaru was making it tremendously difficult for her. Not only did he refuse to share his thoughts and opinions when it came to discussing topics of the Renaissance in order to answer the questions, she also felt that he was mocking her by staring at her with those eyes that scrutinised her every move, that studied the words coming out of her mouth and so forth, and of course, she was not one to handle such attentions. They hadn't even answered the first question; 'What was, in essence, the Renaissance?'

They had spent an entire hour of the art lesson getting riled, and in Sesshoumaru's case, bored stiff. He had assisted her in absolutely nothing save for transforming her mood into that of a dog with rabies. He did nothing but insult her at every opportunity and every time she wanted to get started on the first question he would look at her coldly and make it perfectly clear he that he wouldn't cooperate with her, a human, uttering the word as if it tasted bad. Nanae had gotten so irked at this point and was even thankful when class ended, something she had never felt before during an art lesson.

And here she was, pushing through the crowd to get to the cafeteria. She recalled Ms Saikawa's words, _'I hope you've taken advantage of the time I had given you to work on your projects. However, next week I want you to continue in your homes because I have various topics I want to get through before the end of term. Remember, I want these projects typed with original examples by your own hand and the deadline is in exactly two months. Two months, is that clear?'_

Thinking back on these words made Nanae feel all the more angry at Sesshoumaru, if he had made it easier for her to get the project _started_ at least, and then maybe they wouldn't need to leave the rest for completing in each other's houses. But no, he had to keep staring at her and insulting her and ridiculing her humanity instead of behaving like any normal person would and involving himself in the project by contributing with some answers.

_How can someone so damn hot be so hateful?_

Nanae almost froze in her tracks at this line of thought. Slowly, she continued to shove her way along the corridor. She blinked a few times as if that would help, and then let out a dry laugh, trying to reason with her own thoughts.

_Well, duh, of course I think he's hot. Who wouldn't think so? Any girl would dream of being in my position…but I'm not any girl. He's a hateful, selfish, arrogant son of a bitch that seems intent on having me fail the only subject in the world that I enjoy, making me hate it. And he's beginning to succeed. So yeah, okay I admit that he's smokin' but that doesn't mean I'm going to fall head over heals for him because I value personality above all things. And he does NOT have personality._

Another annoying little voice popped in. _People who value personality over looks are usually ugly._ Nanae ignored it and carried on with her inner reflections.

_Why oh why did I have to get paired up with him? What kind of god would do that to me? I hate the way he stares at me as if I were a piece of doggy doo on the ground, making me feel all squirmy and horrible. Plus, his eye colour doesn't exactly help, they freakin' give me the creeps! _

The annoying voice interrupted. _Ah, but you still think he's hot._ Nanae was getting fed up of this little truth. _I thought I'd already been through that. He's attractive, but I'm not attractED. End of conversation, er... thought…whatever._

The small voice sighed. _Yeah, well…he has a girlfriend anyway._

Nanae almost groaned out loud. _My God, I'm turning into Makis!_

She reached the doors of the cafeteria and went to buy her lunch, walking towards the seat that Kyouji had saved for her.

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Inuyasha slammed his locker door shut, ignoring the rumblings of his stomach.

"Did you say something?"

Inuyasha looked at Miroku who was taking out a maths textbook. "Huh?"

The hanyou's stomach growled again, and this time Miroku located it. "Ah." he grinned. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and urged his friend to hurry up before the cafeteria ran out of French fries. Miroku smiled but maintained his calm, undisturbed pace, knowing that it would prove to further irritate Inuyasha.

He was right, for after two minutes of impatiently tapping his foot Inuyasha gave up and decided to head to the cafeteria alone but as he turned around to leave he unintentionally collided into a poor unsuspecting student who was hurrying along clutching a pile of papers. The girl crashed to the floor and the papers went flying everywhere.

"Ah, shit." Inuyasha muttered, and feeling Miroku's eyes on him he offered a hand to her. He personally would have left her there to her own devices but Miroku was deeply religious and believed in aiding fellow man and the sort and Inuyasha would rather use up a little of his time helping whoever it was in distress (only if Miroku was around that is) and spend less time being forced to listen to one of Miroku's extensive lectures and preachings about his philosophy of good.

The girl stared at the hand and then at the person it belonged to. She gasped. "You again?"

Inuyasha gawped at her before quickly placing a look of dislike upon his face. "Keh! Well whaddya know."

Now he recognised her, she was the same girl from the launderette, the one who had the really powerful lungs. To think that she studied in the same school was too much of a coincidence for Inuyasha to even consider.

"Aren't you going to help me up?"

Inuyasha stared at her. "What?"

The girl sighed impatiently. "I said, aren't you going to help me up?" she repeated. Inuyasha looked a little strange for a minute and then he burst out laughing, paying no attention to the girl's poisonous glare and the shaking of Miroku's head.

"You …want _me…_to help you up!" he gasped and he fell about laughing again. Miroku watched on disapprovingly.

The raven haired girl huffed and raised herself into a better sitting position and began to gather her papers.

"You demons are all the same." She snapped. Inuyasha stopped laughing almost immediately. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"What did you say?" he asked dangerously. The girl raised her chin defiantly.

"You demons are all the same! Selfish, arrogant, _rude_… the list goes on pal!"

Inuyasha ground his teeth in anger. Pointing a finger at her he hissed, "Not all of us demons are like that, wench, so just get yer head outta yer ass and maybe you'll see the difference!"

The girl gasped and clutched her papers tightly, "How dare you…!"

At that precise moment, Miroku decided to intervene and he directed himself to Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, you're a hanyou, remember."

The girl began to rant and rave, "…Exactly what I thought, the _rudeness_ of some demons…absolutely _unbelievable…_"

Inuyasha felt both confused and angry as he looked from the girl sitting on the floor, to Miroku who was reminding him of his being a half breed.

"…I don't know why you feel so connected to demons when you're only half demon yourself, you're the one always speaking against them and everything…"

"…Don't care about helping _anyone_, it's like they don't have _hearts_, always insulting everyone inferior to them, that's what demons do, they get kicks out of knocking us humans to the ground and it doesn't stop there, noooo…"

Inuyasha felt so unbelievably frustrated at that point that he threw up his hands.

"GAAAAH!"

Turning to Miroku he pointed a finger at his face. "I know I'm a hanyou! Shut up!"

And whirling to the girl he let out an angry growl and took a step forward. "And I'll fuckin' help you up if that will keep yer mouth SHUT!

The girl pointedly refused his help, turning her head firmly away. "No thank you!"

Inuyasha stared at her, and very slowly his face began to darken with rage. "But…" He growled, his teeth gritted, "…You just said that you wanted me to help you up."

The girl kept her head in the same position. "I know, and now I don't _want _your help, thank you very much!"

Inuyasha let out a strangled cry and grabbed her arm. "I'M HELPING YOU UP DAMNIT!"

"AND I SAID NO!"

She tried to pull away but Inuyasha's grip was unyielding and he hoisted her up roughly despite her struggles to get free.

"Let go of me!" she cried and suddenly the air around them was filled with a hair raising sensation, which was followed be a loud cracking sound, much like static electricity and Inuyasha released her arm abruptly and leapt backwards with a yelp. He opened and closed the hand that he had grabbed her with, holding it close to his face, inspecting any possible damages. He slowly lowered it and glared at the black haired girl.

"What the fuck was that?"

She straightened up and her mouth formed a thin line as she glared back at him. "I told you to let go."

"What did you do, wench?"

"Inu, Inu, Inu…" said Miroku, shaking his head and placing a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Can't you see that she very nearly purified your hand off?"

"Wha-?"

The girl huffed and bent down to collect her papers. Miroku tutted and patted the hanyou's shoulder. "That girl is a miko and every demon and hanyou knows not to get on the wrong side of _them_." He said with a smile. "_I'll_ show you how it's done, my friend."

The black haired boy took a few steps towards the girl, just as someone called out her name and joined her side.

"Kagome! Are you okay? I've been waiting for ages in the cafeteria!"

"I'm sorry Sango, I got a little…" a fleeting look at Inuyasha and Miroku, "…held up. That's all." She smiled. Sango nodded and glanced at Miroku and Inuyasha, but mostly at the former, who was standing closer. Inuyasha smirked at Miroku's hesitation, his friend was well known throughout the school for his…qualities, concerning members of the opposite sex but watching him frozen in mid step and gawping at this 'Sango' was something completely new and so very out of Miroku's character. Inuyasha forgot about the whole hand purifying incident and watched the whole scene unfold, but he failed to take into account how involved he was about to get.

Kagome tugged at Sango's arm. "Let's go, I'm starving."

"But wait, you didn't introduce me to your friends yet!"

Both Kagome and Inuyasha spluttered, but the former recovered quickly. "S-Sango! Those guys are _not_ my friends!" she said, and Inuyasha shook his head vehemently to also deny it.

That was when Miroku snapped out of his daydream and took immediate action. He scooted over to Sango's side and took hold of her hands.

"Allow me to introduce myself," he said with a dashing smile, "Sango, isn't it? My name is Miroku, and that grumpy half demon with the doggy ears over there is my friend Inuyasha. We're pleased to meet you."

Sango raised an eyebrow and quickly glanced at Kagome, who gave a subtle shrug. Miroku then proceeded to clear his throat.

"And now, if you would allow me to ask you one question, a yes or no question…"

Inuyasha knew what was coming and groaned audibly, and Kagome noticed it.

"…Will you bear my child?"

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Kyouji sipped at his coke and continued to listen to Nanae's angry rants about Sesshoumaru.

"…And you know what else he told me!" she said, her voice high and just the tiniest bit shrieky.

Kyouji opened his mouth to respond but Nanae didn't give him time to. "He said, 'humans are known for their low tolerance, or should I say, lack of self control.'" She quoted, imitating his deep voice. "Argh! Can you believe it? Can you believe _him_? He's such a- a-"

"Bastard?"

"Yes!"

Nanae took some deep breaths before taking a savage bite of her burger. She quickly chewed and swallowed. "I hate him." She said darkly, taking a sip of coke from the can. Kyouji smiled at her fondly.

"You look so cute when you're angry."

Nanae almost choked on her mouthful of soda but she quickly gulped it down so she wouldn't spray it all over the place. She picked up her napkin and held it up to her mouth, blushing furiously and trying to fight the cough that rose in her throat. Kyouji grinned. His expression then turned somewhat serious and he cleared his throat to gain Nanae's attention.

"Nanae…"

Nanae had another drink of coke to calm herself. After placing the can upon the table she looked up at him. "Yep?"

He was staring at her with those ocean blue eyes and her stomach went all fluttery. He seemed to be searching for the right words to say and his hesitation, no matter how slight, was evident. Nanae's pulse quickened. Her hand was still gripping the can of soda. Kyouji's gaze dropped to his food and his shoulders shook a little with nervous laughter.

"I….heh….I, uh…jeez, I'm no good at this…" he said, running a hand through his sexily messy, dark red hair. Nanae's heart was beating like a drum in her chest. Was he going to ask her…?

"Uh…well, I know we met only a week ago…but, uh…would you-"

"Hey guys! Oh thanks, you saved me a seat!"

Nanae jumped in surprise at the loud, happy voice and the hand she had been gripping the soda can with jolted, spilling coke all over her fries. "Aw, damnit."

Kyouji stood up and helped her mop up the mess with a couple of napkins, while the owner of the cheerful voice who of course was Makis, sat down beside the red haired hanyou, placing her tray of food on the table. She watched Nanae and Kyouji clean up the coke and giggled.

"Oh, Nanae, you're so clumsy!"

Nanae forced a silly grin on her face and nodded. She and Kyouji abandoned the soggy napkins and the squishy pulp that were now her fries, and they took their seats again. Makis edged her chair closer to Kyouji's so that their elbows were touching, failing to notice the fleeting look of discomfort that passed over the hanyou's face. He tried to move his chair away discreetly but Makis only closed the distance again. Nanae couldn't help feeling a little irritated at Makis' obvious advances but as she and Kyouji locked gazes, the annoyance she was feeling subsided. The silent message he was sending with his cerulean stare was clear to her: _I still have something to tell you_. She smiled at him, ignoring the fluttering rhythm of her heart and the burning sensation of an oncoming blush in her cheeks.

Kyouji watched as Nanae's gaze dropped to her half eaten burger. He couldn't help feeling angry at himself, more than the annoyance he was experiencing with Makis for her unbelievingly inopportune interruption. If he had only spat out 'will you go out with me' in one go instead of stuttering stupidly he could have obtained an answer from Nanae by now. But she made him so nervous when she looked at him with those beautiful grey eyes, so even if he had the proposal thought out clearly in his head, expressing it would have been a trying task anyway. Kyouji turned to look at Makis who was chatting away at a million miles an hour about things he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to. Something about passing a physics exam. If Makis hadn't shown up like that…well, he didn't know if he would have asked Nanae out at that moment but he sure as hell would have made some progress.

"…So anyway, Nanae, when are you going to introduce me to your friend Sesshoumaru?"

Nanae looked up and gawked at Makis as if she had lost her mind. "He is NOT my friend! And how could you ask me something like that? I told you he had a girlfriend!"

Makis giggled and sipped at her drink. "Yeah, I know."

Nanae sighed, but her sigh was cut short when she spotted the unmistakeable glimmer of long silvery hair among the students of the cafeteria. The owner of the perfect hair was of course, Sesshoumaru.

"Oh, come on Nanae, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease introduce me to him! And you're the one who said he was hot!"

Kyouji's eyebrows shot up and he stared at Nanae's slowly reddening face. "You said Sesshoumaru was-?"

"Makis!" said Nanae, absolutely shocked that her friend would have mentioned that…and in front of Kyouji too. She felt as if she would melt with embarrassment.

"What? You did! Oh, c'mon Nanae, I wanna meet him!" Makis pleaded, bouncing up and down in her seat like a small child.

"Fine! Look then, he's over there!" Nanae told her out of pure irritation, pointing in the demon's direction. Makis' head twisted around to stare. Her mouth literally dropped open. Nanae slumped back against her seat and sighed, shaking her head. Kyouji couldn't help chuckling.

"Oh. My. God." Said Makis. "He. Is. GORGEOUS!" Her head snapped back towards Nanae. "Why didn't you tell me he looked like that?"

"Huh!"

"Jeez, I could throw myself at him right now!"

Kyouji grinned. "Yeah, you would."

Makis looked at him. "At you too, hun." She smiled and she fluttered her eyelashes.

Kyouji's grin disappeared. Nanae was shaking her head in disbelief. "Makis, you're impossible." She said tiredly and she got to her feet, picking up her tray. Makis was being especially annoying today and Nanae had an English lesson next and she hadn't taken the books out of her locker yet. Kyouji stood up also and offered to accompany her. Nanae nodded and smiled, feeling the butterflies in her stomach again as he took her tray in a gentlemanly way and placed it over his own.

"Hey are you leaving me already?" Makis asked, pouting.

"I have English next, and anyway you take too long to eat." Replied Nanae, with a slight grin. Makis sighed and dismissed them with a flick of her hand. Nanae waited for Kyouji to empty the trays of their rubbish and they both started to walked out of the cafeteria. Just as they passed through the exit, they distinctly heard a slapping sound ring out and a female voice scream, "HENTAI!" followed by complete silence in the lunch hall. After a couple of seconds the general chatter resumed as normal. Nanae looked at Kyouji questioningly but he only shrugged, and then they both headed for the lockers.

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Nanae crossed the road and headed towards Maho-chan's Coffee Castle, the light spring drizzle sparkling in the lamplight of the busy street. She glanced at her watch which said seven o'clock, hoping that she hadn't arrived too early. She glanced up at the shop sign and wondered why she had never heard of it before; Kyouji had told her it was where a lot of older students hung out because of its calm and welcoming atmosphere. Nanae's stomach gave a small jolt at the memory of Kyouji, and she thought back on the reason why she was here and why she was about to push open the door of the café.

When English class had ended, she had gone to her locker to stow away the books that she wouldn't need until tomorrow and that was when Kyouji had appeared. He took a while to finally get the words out but when he did, he asked her to have coffee with him. Nanae had stuttered stupidly her 'yes' and that earned a relieved and not to mention knee-weakening smile from the handsome hanyou. They had stood there awkwardly for a few more minutes and then Kyouji decided to go, leaving directions of how to get to the café with Nanae, who could only nod in response.

Nanae's heart had been pounding throughout the entire exchange and she was finding it hard to breathe, and of course she was absolutely elated since things like this never, ever happened to her. Usually she would stand by and watch how guys practically threw themselves at Makis' feet and Makis was accustomed to this type of attention. Now it was Nanae's turn. She felt secretly thrilled about how Kyouji asked _her_ out and not her friend, who would have been any guy's first choice yet here she was, clutching a piece of paper that described Maho-chan's Coffee Castle.

When she had arrived at her apartment with Makis, her friend had asked her why she was being so silent all of a sudden. And Nanae couldn't help blurting out what had occurred with Kyouji, going into every single detail, including how nervous she was and how she was amazed at why someone like Kyouji would spend time with someone like her. Nanae noticed (with some disappointment) that Makis congratulated her in slightly forced manner and that her smile wasn't entirely genuine. She looked tired even.

Nanae stared at the glass door of the café. She wanted Makis to be happy for her, not sulky because Kyouji had fixed his attention on someone other than her, after all there were plenty more guys to choose from at school and Makis knew that she could get anyone she wanted with the way she looked. But today was Nanae's day, and if Makis didn't like it then fine. Still, Nanae couldn't help feeling bad for her friend; Makis had even helped her decide what to wear for that night, telling her that cafés equalled casual attires.

Before entering, Nanae looked up at the darkened sky, feeling the tickle of the raindrops upon her face, and she prayed to whatever divine entity there was to not embarrass herself in front of Kyouji.

_Please…don't let me trip up, don't let me spill anything over Kyouji, don't let me snort when I laugh, don't let me fall off my chair, don't let me say anything stupid, don't let me stay all quiet and dull…just don't let me be me, only for tonight and I promise I'll…uh…I'll…heck, I'm so desperate here I'll even promise to be nice to Sesshoumaru if that's what it takes!_

After bargaining with the gods, Nanae took a deep breath and pushed open the glass door and was met with a gush of deliciously warm air. She couldn't help smiling and breathing in the wonderful smell of coffee, which brought her memories of happy mornings when her mother was still healthy. She looked around at the little round tables and comfy little cushioned chairs, liking the feel of the café immediately. It was so…cosy, which was a word Nanae liked a lot. The place wasn't too full, nor too empty which was perfect for her, she found those conditions pleasant. She glanced at the counter and spotted Kyouji, who was sitting on one of the tall stools and chatting to who seemed to be Maho-chan, a plump, cheerful, middle aged woman with a permanent smile on her face. Kyouji noticed Nanae enter the café and he waved at her, then, after saying something to Maho-chan, he got off the stool and approached Nanae.

"Hey." He smiled. Nanae blushed a deep red, his smiles made her heart beat like a drum in her chest, and his blue eyes…they made her melt.

"H-hi!" _Stupid stupid me! I forgot to ask the gods to not let me stutter!_

"Why don't we sit at a table?"

Nanae nodded in reply and let herself be led by Kyouji to one of the little tables by the window, where they had a view of the street, shiny with drizzle and illuminated by the yellow light of the lamps. The both of them sat down on the cushioned chairs and Nanae was surprised at how marvellously comfortable they were.

"I already told Maho-chan to make us some hot chocolate, you have to try it, she mixes ground coffee in with the cocoa."

Nanae nodded. _Hey! Say something won't ya?_ She thought to herself.

"Uh…so, how do you know Maho-chan?" _Wow. Great question. Not._

"Oh, she's a friend of my mum's. They go back a long time." He said reminiscently. Nanae's heart thudded in her chest, that far away look on his face made him so irresistible, and the strands of dark red hair that fell out of his sexily untidy ponytail framed his handsome face. Nanae wondered why on earth he asked_ her_ out and not Makis.

Maho-chan herself brought the hot chocolate on a tray and placed it on the table and Nanae could have sworn that the lady winked at her before heading over to the counter. Was it encouragement?

Kyouji took a gulp of hot chocolate. After swallowing he smiled dreamily. "Aaah, lovely."

Nanae giggled and took a sip of hers. It was possibly the most delicious thing she had ever tasted in her life, the sweet, not-too-hot liquid slipped right down her throat and caused a pleasantly warm sensation in all her body, and the taste was absolutely heavenly.

"Wow." She said.

Kyouji drank a bit more and then he placed the mug on the table. "So…what can we talk about?"

Nanae put down her mug. "I don't know…ummm…."

"I know, let's talk about you."

Nanae blushed. "Me?"

"Yeah, why did you come to Kokusai High?"

"Well…it's kind of a long story…" Nanae said, not really wanting to talk about her mother's illness especially on a first date.

Kyouji sensed her unwillingness and swiftly changed the subject, feeling angry at himself for causing her discomfort.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me. So, what kind of movies do you like?"

Their conversation lasted for hours and each discovered significantly interesting things about the other. For example, Kyouji's mother was human and his father was a wolf demon who ended up abandoning his wife and only son for no apparent reason. Kyouji expressed some bitterness about it but assured her that he had nothing against demons, he understood that their lives revolved around strength and power and a human or hanyou would only burden them. Nanae felt saddened at this information, and she wondered how Kyouji felt when he was told his father had left for good. She mentioned that her father had also left home and that she had lived with her uncle and her cousin, Sae. She didn't mention her mother's tragic death or why she felt her uncle was keeping things from her.

They found that they both loved winter and hated summer, they both sucked at math and physics but triumphed in art and English. Nanae was a little afraid to tell him that she preferred staying in reading a book than to go out clubbing all night but he understood completely, he even laughed and said that he was exactly the same but it was his mother that had told him to start enjoying himself and even paid the entrance fee to Club Kinu so that he could have a good time. After that embarrassing situation he vowed to never stay at home on Friday nights. Nanae laughed along with him but their fun was cut short when Maho-chan announced that it was closing time. Kyouji and Nanae left the café and stood in the drizzle. Kyouji offered to walk Nanae home and since it was only a few streets away she accepted and on the way they talked about places they had been and movies they had seen and all the things two people would normally share on a date.

They arrived at Nanae's apartment block and Kyouji insisted accompanying her up the stairs to her floor, saying 'no one was ever safe until they closed the door behind them', something his mother said often. Nanae smiled in appreciation. She reached her apartment and fumbled in her jacket for her keys, noticing how close Kyouji's body was beside her, and how warm it felt. Before placing the key in the lock she looked at him with a strange uncertainty in her eyes.

"Kyouji?"

"Yeah?"

"Why…er…I mean…I'm not…uhh…that is…why me?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, tilting his head to one side.

"I mean, I'm not like Makis, and she's beautiful and everything, why not her?"

Kyouji chuckled. "I didn't ask Makis because she's too…obvious. Y'know?"

Nanae nodded, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "But I still don't understand…I'm not pretty or anything." She said.

Kyouji studied her face. He reached out and grasped her chin softly, tilting her face up.

"You're right…you're not pretty."

Nanae blinked with confusion. Kyouji smiled gently.

"You're beautiful." He whispered and leaning down he brushed his lips over hers sending bolts of electricity through Nanae's body. Nanae's heard thudded loudly and her knees became jelly but it didn't matter because he was kissing her. He was kissing _her_.

Kyouji then put some distance between them and his hand left Nanae's chin. He gave her one of his dazzling smiles.

"Goodnight, Nanae." He said. She nodded, feeling too breathless to speak. He began to descend the stairs and Nanae listened on until she could no longer hear his footsteps. She placed a hand over her beating heart and breathed deeply. Then she touched her lips lightly with her fingers. That was the first proper kiss she'd ever had. She remembered her first kiss, which was when she was thirteen and it was something silly and insignificant, the boy wasn't even dating her or anything and it made the action petty and meaningless. But this was for real, Kyouji had kissed her and he had told her she was beautiful which meant more to her than anything else. She was so convinced of her plainness and unimportance that she had blocked herself from the rest of the world, but here was Kyouji, half wolf demon, choosing her out of the many girls in school.

Nanae turned the key and opened the door, refraining from turning on the light and heading straight to her room instead. Tomorrow was Saturday and she would have to contact Sesshoumaru to talk about the project, but she stopped herself from thinking of it. For now she would just enjoy her elevated self esteem and lie awake for hours reliving the entire scene.

_I can't wait to tell Makis._

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A/N: phew! Again, sorry for the wait and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't worry all of you Sesshy girls, he'll be appearing more soon! Please Read and Review!

_Kinu_: silk.


	11. A Phone Call

Hey people! (Gets down on knees) Please forgive my despicable tardiness! I know that a simple excuse will not suffice; all I ask of you is your forgiveness! I'm so sorry! And thanks for all the support and patience, I just hope you all haven't lost the thread of what's going on in this story. I had half of the chapter done since the beginning of October but I hadn't gotten round to finishing it what with all the holiday season madness.

Special thanks to: **ShoChan **(sorry for taking so long) **pinguina, TheSkyNinja, RuiUsagi, Viperthe strange** (as always. Luv yas!)**White Alchemist Taya **and **Thoughts13.**

**Chapter 11: A Phone Call **

Nanae's eyes fluttered open and drifted closed again, not quite wanting to open fully yet. It was a Saturday, meaning she could sleep a bit longer and she savoured the sensation of the warm morning sun through her eyelids a while before letting herself wake up properly. She lazily opened her eyes and gave a big yawn, stretching herself out of her covers. Her mind suddenly drifted back to the night before, recalling the date and Kyouji's kiss. Nanae smiled a soft, sleepy smile as she remembered and she lightly touched her lips with her fingers. She felt a little silly for doing it, making such a big thing out of a little kiss, but she had never received attention liked that from anyone before and it felt good to dwell on it for a moment longer. She lay there on her bed a few minutes more and then got up slowly, stretching a bit to get the last kink out of her neck. She opened the curtains and let the warm sunlight flood into her bedroom, creating a shimmering and dreamy like atmosphere, similar to the state she was currently in.

She heard dull, thudding footsteps out on the corridor, telling her that Makis was awake too. Nanae felt her stomach swoop with excitement towards the prospect of telling her friend how well last night went, so she left her bedroom and positively skipped to the kitchen where Makis was preparing her daily bowl of cereal.

"Good morning Makis!"

Makis looked at her from under heavy eyelids. "Good Mohoho…" she stifled a yawn, "…orning, Nanae." She finished, stirring her cereal slowly with the spoon and moving to the small table and sitting down. Nanae joined her, after she put a slice of bread in the toaster. She gazed at Makis expectantly with sparkly eyes and a smile. Makis swallowed a spoonful of cereal and glanced up at her, spotting her expression and sighing. She put down the spoon.

"Okay…how did your date go, Nanae?" she said, her voice holding a small hint of amusement. Nanae's smile grew and she leaned closer, placing her elbows on the table and resting her chin a top of her interlaced fingers.

"Well…Kyouji took me to this lovely Coffee place, we should go there sometime, anyway…he got us both some of the greatest hot chocolate I've ever tasted, Makis are you listening?"

Makis nodded as she chewed some more of her cereal, her spoon clanging slightly against the bowl as she scooped up another quantity. Nanae continued.

"So we're talking about stuff, you know, the usual and then it's time to go and he offers to accompany back here, and I say 'okay'. Anyway, so he walks me right to the front door saying it's dangerous to come here alone because of…well, whatever….and then…" Nanae looked at Makis excitedly, "He kisses me! Well, first he said I was beautiful and _then_ he kissed me, but anyway, isn't it great? I've never been properly kissed by _anyone_ and I didn't even think Kyouji would be remotely interested in me."

Nanae waited for a reply from Makis, who was now slowly chewing her cereal, her gaze lowered to the bowl. She swallowed but didn't say anything and her expression was unreadable.

"Makis? Are you okay?" Nanae asked, sounding anxious. Makis quickly plastered a smile on her face and looked up at Nanae.

"I'm fine, and really Nanae, I think this is excellent!" She said, her voice a little higher and forced than normal. Nanae wasn't sure if Makis' smile was genuine or not but she was glad her friend was okay with everything. She heard the toast pop up and on her way to the kitchen she gave Makis a quick hug.

"I'm glad you're happy for me, you're a great friend, you know that?"

Makis smiled and nodded but the 'happy' expression disappeared as soon as Nanae entered the kitchen, and was replaced by one of deep, troubled thought. Nanae was in the kitchen, picking out the hot toast with a thumb and forefinger and dropping it quickly on the plate, then she poured herself a glass of orange juice and made her way to the table, grabbing a pot of jam from the counter as she passed.

She was taking a bite of her toast when the phone rang, and she put it down, brushing the crumbs from her fingers and chewing rapidly. After the third ring she picked up.

"Hello?"

"Nanae? It's Kyouji here."

Nanae's stomach swooped with nervous joy at the sound of his voice. "Oh, h-hi."

"Did you sleep well?"

Nanae smiled, she slept very well. "Yes I did, thanks."

"That's good." Kyouji said. There was a lengthy pause and it made Nanae's heart pound in her chest. She heard him take a breath.

"Nanae…"

"Yes?"

"Hehe…you even make me feel nervous over the phone." He chuckled. Nanae's eyes widened and she felt a little twinge of feminine pride. She made him nervous? She heard Kyouji clear his throat.

"Anyway, what I called to say was that…I haven't been able to stop….thinking about you. Does that sound too pathetic?"

Nanae was too busy minding the thud of her heart to find anything wrong with his statement. "…No, not at all." She whispered, blushing. She could tell Makis was listening in on the conversation given her slightly inclined head and the way she was chewing very slowly. Nanae leaned into the phone and neared her mouth to the receiver.

"I was actually thinking about you too."

"Oh, really? Well, that's okay then."

Nanae giggled. She heard Kyouji sigh.

"Alright, then. So I'll see you on Monday?"

"Mmhm. Oh, and Kyouji?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

There was a pause. "For what?" he asked. Nanae opened her mouth, but she felt rather silly thanking him for looking at her, choosing her, dating her…kissing her. It was too girly and childish and she hesitated.

"For the hot chocolate and stuff, it was really good." She told him, hoping it didn't sound too stupid. Kyouji chuckled.

"That's okay. So…um…bye…"

"Yeah….bye."

"I'll see you on Monday." he repeated. Nanae nodded, forgetting that she was speaking on the phone and that he wouldn't be able to see her.

"U-huh…see ya…"

"Bye."

"Bye"

There was a long pause where neither of the two hung up. Both Nanae and Kyouji laughed. There was a clattering sound, its source being Makis' spoon dropping into the now empty bowl.

"Just hang up the damn phone already!"

Nanae sighed and said goodbye once more and with delayed movements she finally put the phone down, earning a relieved sound from Makis' mouth. The girl grinned.

"I didn't know you two were so lovey-dovey."

Nanae blushed and shook her head. "No we're not. It was just one date, that's all."

Makis waggled her eyebrows. "U-huh, yeah sure." She grinned, getting up to wash her bowl in the kitchen. Nanae didn't see her grin disappear and she didn't see Makis' hands grip the bowl tightly before she placed it into the sink. Nanae's mind was occupied with thoughts of the future, of what she would wear on Monday and of how the weekend seemed too long a wait to see Kyouji again. She reached up and pulled off her hair band from her sleep tousled hair and she brushed it as best as she could with her hands before tying it up again. She looked down at the phone, lying on the coffee table before her. She remembered with a slight jolt that she was supposed to call Sesshoumaru today, and at least attempt to reason with him, to make him understand how important the art project was to her. She really wanted to get started on it, but dealing with a full demon like him was not her forte and she had no experience whatsoever. She didn't even how to insult him properly. Nanae realized her toast was sitting morosely on her plate, half eaten and cold but she wasn't hungry anymore, she needed to do the first thing on her list of priorities.

"Makis!"

"Yeah?"

"Could I have Sesshoumaru's phone number please?"

Makis gave her a knowing smile. "Oh, so you're gonna call your other man now?"

Nanae stared at her.

"Okay, okay I'll get it for you." Makis said, waving her hands dismissively. Two minutes later she was back with a little piece of paper which she handed to Nanae. Nanae squinted at the scrawled numbers, following them with her finger.

"What's that? Is that a…three or a….five?"

Makis leaned in to have a look, staring long and hard. "…A three."

"Are you sure?"

"Wait….Yep, that's definitely a three, my fives are normally wider."

"I'm putting it on you if it's the wrong number." Nanae warned. Makis pouted indignantly.

"Just be grateful I found it for you."

Nanae shifted in her place guiltily. "Thank you very much."

Her friend smiled. "Ah, it was nothing, they don't exactly keep those student records under lock and key."

Nanae dialled the number and held the receiver to her ear, listening to the rings. "Why were you even looking at those student records?"

Makis grinned. "Well…"

Suddenly someone answered on the other line. "What do you want."

Nanae was taken by surprise; she was expecting Sesshoumaru's cool, unconcerned voice, not a brusque raspy tone. For one second she panicked, believing she'd read the number wrong and that the three was actually a five. She swallowed.

"Uuuuh…hi…er…is Sesshoumaru there?"

"Who's this?"

"Uh, I'm Nanae…I have to do a project with Sesshoumaru. Is he there?" She asked again, hoping she would get a response.

"He's working."

_Working?_ Nanae thought. She had no idea Sesshoumaru worked or did anything that demanded some kind of effort.

"Oh….uh, when will he be back?"

"I dunno." came the careless reply.

Nanae bit her lip. "Okay. Thanks."

She heard a sharp click and then the dialling tone. She blinked and stared at the receiver.

"So?" asked Makis expectantly. Nanae put the phone down. "He wasn't in."

"So who were you talking to?"

Nanae frowned. It didn't occur to her to ask who she was speaking with, but she was sure she'd heard that voice somewhere before.

"You didn't ask who it was?"

Nanae shook her head meekly.

"God, Nanae, you're useless. What am gonna do about you…hmmm?" Makis said, ending the sentence with a fond tone, and giving Nanae a quick hug. She got up and went to her room to get dressed, leaving Nanae on the couch. Nanae sighed and stood up, finally deciding that her cold toast was better off in her belly than in the trash.

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Babysitting Rin was one of the greatest challenges of the whole demon kingdom, and one of the most irritating. All Inuyasha wanted to do was lock himself up in his room and listen to music but no, he had to look after the little devil his older brother had taken into his care. And it didn't help that she was smarter…and very impressionable.

Inuyasha's biggest mistake that day was letting her watch wrestling with him on TV. But it was either wrestling or those infuriating cartoons with obscenely high pitched voices she was accustomed to watching, and obviously Inuyasha had chosen the former. If only the girl hadn't taken it so seriously, demanding a wrestling match with him until he conceded. Next, the apartment was filled with squeals and shrieks of a child's laughter (and a hanyou's yells of pain and protest) as Rin threw herself on top of Inuyasha's stomach over and over again, pounding him with her tiny fists. She refused to relent until he grabbed her by the ankles and hung her upside down in the air, earning squeals of Rin's laughter and giving him an opportunity to get up from the floor. He growled and set her down which was another mistake, because as soon as he turned his back on her, she wrapped her small arms around his legs and he tumbled onto the floor again.

"OW! Rin! Stop it!"

"Wrestling is FUN!"

"No, don't! Rin, Hahaha! Not there! It ti-hihihi-ckles!" gasped Inuyasha, rolling around in an attempt to get Rin off his stomach. Rin giggled at this new discovery and tickled him harder. Inuyasha kicked about wildly, laughing until tears were streaming down his cheeks.

"S-stop it! No! No! I'll ki-hihihi-ll you!"

Sesshoumaru came through the front door, tossing his keys upon the counter and staring at the commotion in the living room. He slowly strode to the two on the ground and cocking an eyebrow he said,

"Why, Inuyasha I haven't seen you squirm like that in a long time. It's extremely satisfying to watch."

Rin looked up and gasped, abandoning the wheezing hanyou and throwing herself around Sesshoumaru's legs.

"Sesshoumaru-sama! You're back!" she exclaimed joyfully. Sesshoumaru nodded, his face wiped clean of emotion as always.

"Yes Rin. Now let me go."

"Hai!" she cried and immediately separated herself from his legs with a huge adoring smile on her face. Inuyasha was still lying on the floor, spread-eagled and breathless from the effort of both laughing and throwing Rin off. Sesshoumaru found the whole thing quite amusing. He removed his jacket and placed over the back of a chair.

"Sesshoumaru-sama? What are we going to eat for dinner today?" Piped up Rin, moving close to the chair on which Sesshoumaru had placed his jacket.

"Yeah, what's for food? I'm starving." Said Inuyasha, as he picked himself off the floor, putting a couple of cushions that had been tossed about, back in their places on the sofa.

"Gyudon."

"Beef bowl? Yay!" cried Rin happily, leaping onto the chair and jumping up and down on it.

"Gyudon…yum. Hurry up then." Said Inuyasha, over the continuous 'Yay, yay, yay, yay's emitted by an excited Rin. Even though she was standing on a chair she didn't even reach half of Sesshoumaru's height, but that didn't stop her.

"Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay-"

"That's enough Rin." Sesshoumaru said to her in his firm monotone. He put his hands below her arms and easily lifted her off the chair, making her squeal from the fluent movement. After putting her down, Sesshoumaru checked his watch which read seven-thirty.

"Oh yeah, some girl called this morning, askin' for ya." Said Inuyasha, throwing the last cushion back on the couch. Sesshoumaru made an irritated sound.

"I thought I told you not to take messages from Emi."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "I didn't say it was your slutty girlfriend."

Sesshoumaru shot him a cold glare.

"It was some girl called Nanae or Nani or somethin'. Talking about a project." Inuyasha said, shrugging lightly.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. _The human girl?_ Feeling a little irritated at her having discovered his phone number, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. And she continued to pester him with the project, even though they had plenty of time left to complete it. He decided to push all thoughts of this aside for the night; they held little importance for him.

Walking into the kitchen he threw his habitual dishcloth upon his right shoulder as always and went to get started on dinner.

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Ryuusei opened the door to the apartment he had rented for his father and himself. A smell of mould and humidity met his nose and he had to let his eyes adjust to the dimness of the room. He heard slow shuffling steps behind him and felt a hand grasp his shoulder for support. Ryuukotsei panted and re-adjusted his grip on the cane that kept him standing. His son, Ryuusei patted his father's hand and wrapped an arm around his waist to sustain him.

"Are you sure you're alright, father?"

The older dragon demon nodded. "I'm fine. I've wanted to leave that God forsaken clinic ever since I first woke up from the coma. The food tastes like crap there."

Ryuusei chuckled, glad that his father hadn't lost his sense of humour, even after ten years in a deep sleep. He was thankful that his father survived the incident, when his enemy, the chief of police Inutaisho, didn't. He finally had his father back…but that was only the start…they still had a long search ahead of them, a search for the lost jewel, the Shikon no Tama.

_If it hadn't been for that foolish Inutaisho, my father would still have the Shikon no Tama and his dignity, not forced to use a cane like a crippled human. _Ryuusei though bitterly. What Inutaisho had done, leaving his fang in his father like that, had no doubt caused chaos in his system, prolonging the whole healing process. He was taking a long time to recuperate from his wounds and nothing seemed to speed it up. Ryuusei knew that his father's thirst for revenge was great, but his power and strength needed time to recover and regenerate before any action could be taken. _If only we had the jewel…_

His father's voice brought him back from his thoughts.

"What the hell is this place?"

Ryuusei looked around him, gazing at the dust particles floating slowly about. It was the best he could find for the time being, and it was best to lie low and in a place that wouldn't attract too much attention from the cops. Their mansion had most probably been roped off or barricaded, every nook and cranny searched for clues of their whereabouts. Ryuusei hadn't returned to that mansion in years, having lived with relatives while his father spent years in a vegetative state. He must have been only eight when his father was defeated by Inutaisho.

"Find me a chair or something, Ryuusei, I need to sit down."

Ryuusei nodded and helped his father into the apartment, leading him to an old, dusty armchair. Ryuukotsei slowly lowered himself into it, grimacing with pain. His son moved to open the moth-eaten curtains to let some light in which drifted lazily into the room, illuminating the specks of dust that drifted around. The older dragon demon coughed hoarsely.

"…Has that transfer to the new school been successful?"

Ryuusei nodded, taking slow steps towards the armchair, hands in pockets.

"When will you be leaving?" Ryuukotsei asked. Ryuusei stared off into the distance.

"I'm not sure…In few weeks, a month maybe."

"Well, make it as soon as possible, I'd like that jewel in my possession." Ryuukotsei said in low tones. He looked up at his son, who was the spitting image of him in his youth with his sleek black hair tied up in a ponytail and light green eyes set in a handsome, angular face. Ryuusei nodded, and began to take something out of his pocket. He unfolded the envelope he had just pulled out and delved inside with his hand.

"These are the most recent photos of the driver's daughter. They were taken close to Tokyo Kokusai High School." Explained Ryuusei, passing them to his father. Ryuukotsei made a sound of approval.

"Hm…who would have known she would grow into such a lovely young lady." The elder demon commented.

"…Yes." Said Ryuusei, his voice soft and low and his eyes transfixed on the picture his father was currently holding. Ryuukotsei watched his son for a while and then took the envelope from him, sliding the photos back inside. He reached up and grasped his son's hand.

"Son, I need her alive."

Ryuusei took a few minutes to answer. "Of course."

His father gave him a knowing grin, "But I also want you to enjoy your last year of high school….harm her only if you have to." He said, his gaze full of meaning.

Ryuusei's mouth broke into a slow smile and his green eyes glittered with malevolence.

"Yes father…I promise."

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A/N: I hope you guys are understanding what's going on here, and if you don't…well just tell me in your reviews and I'll answer any questions. The next chapter will be a good one and I'll get around to writing it sometime during the start of January or later because I'm not sure when I'll get back from my uncle's farm (yes I'm spending the new year at a farm) and I'm leaving tomorrow. I think 'Amber on a Silver Chain' will be put on hold until then, but I think I'll at least write half of it before I go.

Please R and R!

_Gyudon_: Like Rin mentioned, it's a Japanese beef dish made with beef (duh), rice, dashi soup (like fish soup) and soy sauce for flavour. Yum

EDIT: I submitted this chapter a few days a go but it didn't appear anywhere so I re posted it. Hopefully it will work THIS time (mutters and curses angrily).


	12. His Apartment, Part I

Hi, people! I know it's been over three months since I last updated this store and instead of offering any old excuse I'll tell you the truth. To be honest, I haven't been feeling any inspiration at all with any of my stories, and that's principally the reason why I haven't updated. Of course, those of you who check out my profile will have read that I currently am lacking a pc and I have to go to an internet café to do any kind of work. But then there are some of you that will ask, then how come I post artwork regularly on deviantart? Well, I'm studying graphic design and we get free time during our digital art class which means I can finish colouring pending sketches I have. Truthfully, I'm actually considering leaving fanfiction dot net because I don't really have the time anymore, not like I used to and it makes me sad since I do enjoy writing. But I've decided to stay and finish my stories first and then when the time comes, I'll think about what I'll do. Those of you reading my fics have nothing to worry about, I promise I'll complete them.

Thanks a million to: **pinguina, ****Valinor's Twilight, ****xxobSESSedxx** and **White Alchemist Taya**, you guys keep my hope alive!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Inuyasha.

**Chapter 12: His Apartment – Part I**

Nanae and Makis arrived at the front gates of their school, less than enthusiastically. The only reason Nanae felt motivated to attend the most boring lessons of the week was to see Kyouji again. Just thinking about him made her stomach flutter and she had to bow her head low so that Makis wouldn't catch the blush forming on her cheeks. They joined the exodus of students entering the main building, chattering, pushing and (some) yawning.

Makis left Nanae at the lockers because her class had already started and the teacher usually arrived on the dot. Nanae wished her luck and then fumbled with the combination on her locker door. A deep, familiar voice startled her, causing her to drop her books.

"Hey, Nanae."

Nanae blushed deeply as she picked up her things, cursing her jumpiness. She straightened and found herself staring into brilliant ocean blue eyes.

"Hi, Kyouji." She said, almost breathlessly. The half wolf-demon leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. Nanae's heart fluttered in her chest and she closed her eyes, enjoying that special morning greeting. Kyouji pulled back and gave her one of his dashing smiles, and Nanae couldn't help thinking what perfect teeth he had.

"Did you have a good weekend?" he asked, helping her place books in her locker. Nanae pulled out the things she needed for her class and closed the door.

"It was okay." She replied. They both set off down the corridor.

"Mine was very boring. I was going to call you again but I thought that would seem needy and pathetic." Kyouji said, grinning. Nanae smiled.

"I wouldn't have thought so." She answered truthfully. Kyouji put his arm around her, and Nanae felt that she could seriously get used to this type of contact.

"Aaah, that's why I like you so much, Nanae."

Nanae blushed lightly. Kyouji kissed her cheek fondly. "You're so cute."

Nanae almost melted into the ground and she would have if she hadn't been in front of her classroom. Kyouji was so sweet, and she could hardly believe he was going around her, she could hardly believe he actually _liked _her. Her heart was swollen with hope and happiness, and she was glad she had gotten up that morning. Kyouji set off in another direction for his class and Nanae stared after him watching the movement of his red hair in the sexily messy ponytail until he could no longer be seen. She quickly snapped out of it and entered her classroom for the first lesson of the day: Math.

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Nanae left the math classroom feeling utterly depressed. She hadn't able to solve one equation, not understanding the one thousand miles per hour explanation from the teacher. And what was worse he had given everyone thirty equations of the same sort to work out as homework. Nanae knew that Makis was good at this sort of thing but she didn't want prove once again that she was useless at something else in her life. But it wasn't like she had a choice, and she didn't want to fail math…again.

Nanae checked that she had her sketchbook before entering the art room. She made her way over to her usual spot beside Sesshoumaru at the large circular table and sat down heavily, letting out a long sigh. Sesshoumaru stared at her.

"Exhausted already? My theory on human weakness still stands, I see." He said. Nanae stared back at him and then at the table.

"Be quiet." She mumbled, not being able to think of anything clever or witty to say.

"Hmph." Sesshoumaru said, amused.

Ms Saikawa, the art teacher, introduced them to a new topic that morning, further reminding Nanae that she and Sesshoumaru were still behind on their project, due for next month. Nanae gazed across the table at Kyouji, who was paying attention to Ms Saikawa. Nanae smiled softly, watching his concentrated expression and loving the way his eyebrows knitted together slightly. Kyouji caught her staring and gave her a wiggle of his eyebrows, causing Nanae to snort softly with laughter. She muffled it with her hand and was forced to calm down after she heard Sesshoumaru clear his throat in annoyance.

Ms Saikawa instructed the students to draw different poses of their hands, and the exercise was to be handed in at the end of the lesson. There were sounds of sketchbooks opening and pencils clattering upon the table as they prepared for the task set for them. Nanae looked around her for ideas, and saw many people staring at their own hands, searching for angles and positions. Some of them looked very strange. Nanae turned to Sesshoumaru and saw that he had already started and was sketching from imagination instead of using his hand as a reference. Nanae stared down at her right hand, flexing the fingers. She would draw from imagination too, and she mentally turned it into a challenge. She was a good artist, damnit and not Sesshoumaru or anyone would prove her wrong.

During the entire exercise she constantly reminded herself to talk to Sesshoumaru about the project, planning on offering her apartment as the study point, where they'd do the work. She erased a line that was out of place on the paper. She must not forget to talk to Sesshoumaru!

Just as the lesson ended, Ms Saikawa requested the sheets of paper containg the exercise. There was a confusing bustle in the classroom as people handed in their work and left and Nanae had to pass her paper to some random student so that it could reach the teacher. She packed her things into her pack and turned to Sesshoumaru but was startled to find that he had gone. She blamed herself for not grabbing his attention sooner, but she didn't beat herself up about it, she still had the rest of the day to find him.

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By lunchtime, Nanae _did_ start beating herself up about it. Sesshoumaru was nowhere to be seen and she desperately needed to tell him about the project. She sat with Kyouji and Makis at a table in the cafeteria, with an empty tray in front of her, having finished her food. Makis was currently enjoying her chocolate pudding (or rather, Nanae's who just couldn't say no to her), and Kyouji was entertaining himself by stroking Nanae's hand with the pads of his fingers. Nanae had never received that kind of attention from any male before and almost shivered with delight. But the joy was short-lived every time she remembered the damn project.

"Ne, Kyouji?"

"Hm?"

"Who is your partner for the art project?"

Kyouji continued to stroke her hand. "I thought I told you already, Hojo."

"Hojo?"

"U-huh."

Nanae thought back to the first day of class and recalled the guy who had tripped over and dropped the bowl of fruit they were supposed to draw for art class. Ah, that Hojo.

"Oh, I remember now." She said.

Kyouji snorted with laughter, "Yeah, him…if you ask me, he's a better cave painter than an Impressionist."

"Oh, is that your topic? Impressionism?"

"Yep." Kyouji replied, now tracing light circles on the back of her hand. The contact made the hairs on her arms stand on end and Kyouji noticed, chuckling softly.

"How far are you on the questions?" She asked. Kyouji creased his brow.

"Ummmm…around halfway I think."

Nanae bit her lip anxiously, telling him that she and Sesshoumaru hadn't even started yet. Kyouji advised her to find him after school, and she nodded, sweeping the cafeteria with her gaze on more time in case the silver haired demon was there. He wasn't.

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"Ah, c'mon Miroku! What is she gonna do at my house while we play video games?"

"Inuyasha, my dear fellow, you know as well as I do that we need to get that English project done first. And since your brother has most of the books we're looking for, your place is more than perfect. And seeing as Kagome is also part of our group…"

"Okay, fine!" Inuyasha snarled. "But as soon as we're finished, you and me are gonna play that damn video game!"

Miroku smiled and patted his back. "That's the spirit." He looked up, "Ah, Kagome! Sango! We saved seats for you."

Sango shot him a nasty glare but took the seat anyway, setting down her tray. Kagome did the same but her glare was directed at Inuyasha instead. She had once again been embarrassed by him and this time it was in English class. They had both been chosen to recite a typical English conversation but Inuyasha had slaughtered one of the most basic of phrases. The class had laughed for a whole ten minutes and Kagome had sat back down, humiliated. Inuyasha didn't even seem to care.

"So, Kagome," began Miroku, "I was just setting the date for the English project elaboration. Are you able to make it to Inuyasha's house on Tuesday?"

Kagome, who had been sipping at her soda, choked on it violently. Sango thumped her on the back.

Kagome, with tears streaming down her cheeks, managed to speak "Tuesday? Tomorrow?"

Miroku gazed at her in concern. "Yes, why? Is there a problem?"

Inuyasha was also staring at her. Kagome shook her head quickly. "No! Not at all!"

Yes, a HUGE problem. It was _Inuyasha's _house. The abode of the very person she held a great dislike for. But after that scene in English, she really needed a good grade and completing this project would provide one for her. Oh, for the sake of her studies!

Thinking about it properly, she really didn't see what the problem was. It was just a study date, right? And Miroku would be there to act as a mediator (actually the thought of having the perverted friend around didn't come as something positive), and Inuyasha wasn't _that_ bad. Was he? Well, he was loud, rude and embarrassing to be with, but sometimes he was okay. Like that one time a guy tried to take a picture with his cell phone of what her skirt hid and Inuyasha had immediately appeared to knock the phone out of the pervert's hands and punch some sense into him. The hanyou had ended up in the principal's office for it and Kagome showed how grateful she was by wearing jeans to school from that day on.

_Okay, so maybe going to Inuyasha's house won't be that much of a trauma. And it's for English anyway. _

"What?"

Kagome blinked rapidly and immediately looked elsewhere, furious at herself for unconsciously staring at Inuyasha during that whole time she had been thinking. She fought back a blush.

"Keh! Weirdo." Inuyasha snorted.

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Just when she thought that day would last an eternity, the final beeps sounded. Nanae went to her locker with Makis, all the while searching for her partner Sesshoumaru. Putting her books away she heard Kyouji call to her.

"Hey Nanae!"

She turned in the direction of his voice and spotted him near one of the school's exits, the one that led to the car park.

"Sesshoumaru's in the car park, he's already leaving!"

Nanae hurriedly packed everything else into her bag and asked Makis to wait for her at the gates before she dashed off to where Kyouji was. Kyouji directed her to spot where Sesshoumaru was and left her to it, wishing her luck. Nanae thanked him and rushed towards the place.

Sesshoumaru, wearing his helmet was already mounting his sleek, black motorcycle and someone else, someone Nanae couldn't recognize because they also wore a helmet was getting on behind. Just as Sesshoumaru placed the key in the ignition, Nanae took her chance.

"Wait! Stop!"

Sesshoumaru's head turned towards her and he placed one foot on the ground, making the bike lean slightly to the side. He lifted the tinted visor of his helmet with a gloved hand, leaving his cold amber eyes in full view.

Nanae stopped running and stood before him, stooping a little to catch her breath.

"Yes?" Sesshoumaru said impatiently.

Nanae straightened up and hoisted her bag into a more comfortable position upon her shoulder.

"Look, Sesshoumaru…I know you don't like humans and I'm no exception-"

"Get to the point."

"Uuuh, okay," she blinked, "Well, what I wanted to say was…" she was feeling really shaken, his eyes were so cold and uncaring. "We _really _need to have this art project started, and I mean _really_. So could you please just spare at least a couple of hours and dedicate them to the project? Please?"

Nanae wasn't sure if pleading would work on him but it was the only thing she could do because she wasn't exactly an expert on using force. She hoped her eyes looked sincere enough.

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. "Fine."

Nanae could hardly believe it. "O-okay…so how about my apartment?"

"No."

"No?" she felt disconcerted. What did he mean no?

"I won't be able to stand the stench of a human home." He replied coolly. Nanae felt her face grow hot with a mixture of embarrassment and irritation.

"Fine, then." She said, carefully hiding the annoyance from her voice, unaware of the fact that Sesshoumaru had long since detected it. "How about your place?" she asked. This was a huge step for her, because Sesshoumaru's home felt like a completely forbidden territory.

Sesshoumaru was silent for a while.

"Very well."

Nanae almost sighed with relief.

"What day?" she asked.

The person sitting behind Sesshoumaru tapped him on the shoulder. The demon turned his head slightly to him.

"Sesshoumaru, remember I got people comin' over tomorrow!" Inuyasha whispered.

"Err…so um, what day? Sesshoumaru?" Nanae repeated.

Sesshoumaru looked back at her. "Tuesday. Tomorrow."

"What!" Inuyasha screeched. Sesshoumaru smirked and snapped his visor down.

"Oh, okay then." Nanae said, making space in order for him to push the motorcycle out a little. He turned the key in the ignition, creating a great rumble from the motor and revving up the bike, he kicked off and tore through the car park and out of sight. Nanae's hair whipped around her face as she stared after them. She couldn't help admiring the bike, and its design. She'd always wanted to ride one and had been offered the opportunity on numerous occasions but she was too chicken to actually do it.

She jumped, feeling arms wrap around her waist, relaxing when she saw it was Kyouji. He kissed her on the cheek. Nanae felt warm, wondering if it was okay that he be so affectionate after only one date. But she didn't think it mattered, the feeling was too nice.

"So, how did it go?" He asked, his breath tickling her ear.

"Okay, I suppose…I'm going to his apartment tomorrow."

"Whoa, risky business. You be careful now." Kyouji grinned turning her around to face him.

"You want me to go with you?" he asked, his voice turning slightly serious. Nanae considered his offer but then shook her head.

"I don't think he'd like that too much."

"Heh, already know what your best buddy wants, huh?" Kyouji joked. Nanae pouted.

"Be quiet, I can't stand him! Seriously though, it was hard enough to get myself invited to his place and I'm his project partner. And also…" Nanae felt uncomfortable about mentioning the next part, not wanting to hurt Kyouji's feelings. But she needn't have worried about it because Kyouji himself brought it up.

"…And also because I'm a hanyou and Sesshoumaru is a world renowned hanyou hater, yeah, I know." He said, his eyes growing slightly darker. Nanae felt panicky.

"I didn't mean to push the conversation in that direction, I'm sorry!"

Kyouji chuckled and pulled her closer. "Don't worry about it. It's not like I'm unused to it."

Nanae smiled at him sympathetically. She wondered what his childhood must have been like, knowing he was different and knowing he wouldn't be accepted. She couldn't see what the problem was, he looked just like a normal demon.

"Kyouji, why does Sesshoumaru hate humans and hanyous?"

"Where did that question come from?"

"Curiosity, mostly. Plus I'm going to his apartment tomorrow and I need all the info I can get."

Kyouji shrugged lightly. "I'm not quite sure of the reason. It's not like he parades around sharing his private information with everyone. I do know he has a hanyou brother though."

"A hanyou brother?"

"Yep. You'll probably meet him tomorrow."

Nanae nodded. She felt confused though. If Sesshoumaru had a brother that was half human and half demon, why did he hate humans so much? Shouldn't it be the opposite?

"Hey." Kyouji said softly. "Don't put too much though into it. That guy will always be a mystery, there's not exactly a prize for anyone who manages to solve it."

Nanae smiled. "Okay."

Still holding her close, Kyouji brushed a bit of stray hair from Nanae's eyes. She was still finding it hard to accept just how attractive he was, his eyes looked so warm and his smile so sincere.

"You remember that night when I told you that you were beautiful?"

Nanae flushed a deep red and nodded.

"I was telling the truth." He told her seriously, as if she needed reason to confirm it. Nanae was unsure how to react. She could nod as usual or she could be bold and kiss him. Why was she so indecisive?

Kyouji leaned in to kiss her but before his mouth could make contact, an all too familiar voice called out from the gates of the car park.

"Hey lovebirds!! I've been waiting for over fifteen minutes out here! C'mon, I got homework to do!" Cried Makis, waving her hands about. Both Kyouji and Nanae sighed and looked at each other before reluctantly parting ways. Kyouji promised to call her later and he set off in the opposite direction to catch a bus.

Nanae plodded over to where Makis was waiting and from there, the girls walked home. Makis complained about her day, and how some guy in her class had been trying to get her to go out with him.

"I mean, ew! He had long hair and it was in a ponytail…Oh, no offence, Nanae." She added, and Nanae, unsure of whether the allusion to Kyouji was done by accident or on purpose, dismissed it.

Makis sighed heavily. "My god, I have _such _a long day tomorrow."

And Nanae, remembering where she had to go after school the next day nodded in agreement saying. "Yep…me too."

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A/N: thanks again to all you guys supporting this story and once again I apologise for making you wait. Please R&R!


	13. His Apartment, Part II

Hi people! I'm trying to pull myself together and update regularly. I don't really have much to say at this point except thank you very much for the patience and support and I'm glad there are still people who have taken an interest in the humble fan fiction.

Oh, one small note for those of you who don't remember, Sae, Nanae's cousin, is the same girl that was with her in the hospital in the first chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I'm running out of ways to say that I don't own Inuyasha.

**Chapter 13: His Apartment, Part II**

That afternoon in Japanese and Literature, Nanae found it extremely difficult to concentrate on the essay she was supposed to be working on. It was the last lesson of the day and the ticking of her watch was getting louder and louder by the second. But it wasn't the fact that she was dwelling on that kiss Kyouji had given her earlier that morning, and it wasn't because she was dreading the journey to Sesshoumaru's home (and was she _really_ dreading it). It wasn't any of that. She'd had a dream last night, and it was the same dream she'd been having many nights prior to this day. The woman again, the beautiful, almost ethereal woman was appearing in her dreams once more, with the same message as always. And Nanae was still unable to find out her identity. She had tried calling her uncle but he wasn't answering, so she'd called her cousin Sae but her boyfriend had picked up telling her that Sae was at work.

So here she was, tapping her pen against the blank paper, her brow creased in what looked like deep thought but was in fact concern.

The final beeps that echoed throughout the school made her jump in her seat. She remembered, with a sinking feeling, that she was supposed to go to Sesshoumaru's apartment, and she almost reluctantly stood and handed in her half finished essay with a sheepish look on her faced as the teacher tutted.

She left the classroom with the rest of the students and she searched for Kyouji, wanting to see him before she left, needing a hug or some sort of contact from him, thinking that maybe it would bring her good luck. But he was nowhere to be found, and Nanae recalled him telling her that he was meeting up with his art partner, Hojo to finish the project. Nanae felt despair. Was nothing going to go right today? Slightly disappointed, she trudged through the rapidly emptying corridors, hauling her bag into a better position on her shoulder as she made her way out of the school. She reached inside the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a folded piece of paper on which was written Sesshoumaru's address. She sighed.

She walked to the bus stop just a few minutes away from the school entrance, in time to see Sesshoumaru plus one passenger zoom past on his motorbike. Nanae felt her stomach tweak suddenly with nervousness. Sesshoumaru's apartment seemed like such an inaccessible place and the thought of her setting foot in it brought on another surge of uneasiness, but she forced herself to think of the project and its hopeful completion.

The bus arrived a short while after, and before hopping inside, Nanae took a long, deep breath.

_I hope I make it out alive._

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The old demon principal, Totosai, sifted through the papers and files on his desk. There were many students who wished to attend Kokusai High, it seemed but there was one particular person Totosai was interested in. A young man named Ryuusei. Even though his memory failed him greatly, he still managed to recall in surprisingly vivid detail the interview he'd had with the boy. Ryuusei needed to complete his final year only, and the reason why he had been forced to change schools wasn't made known to Totosai. Ryuusei merely mentioned that he was parent-less and inhabiting a small solitary apartment not far from Kokusai High School.

Totosai didn't know what exactly made this handsome young man attract his attention so much, and he wasn't sure he spoke the whole truth during the interview, but the old demon felt that this youth needed to be carefully observed. That was why he had approved the transfer, because his school would be an ideal place to keep an eye on Ryuusei.

Totosai placed Ryuusei's file in the top drawer of his desk. Whoever this boy was, he was an expert actor, but he needed more than that to fool an ex- detective like Totosai. He may have been old but he knew something fishy was going on…or about to happen.

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The doorbell rang and Inuyasha shot up immediately to answer it. Wrenching the door open he found not who he was expecting (Miroku), but Kagome, looking strangely determined, as if she had a mission to complete.

"Oh, it's you. Is Miroku there with ya?" Inuyasha asked casually, searching the area of stairwell behind her.

"No." Kagome replied frostily, a little irritated at the hanyou's greeting. Inuyasha shrugged and stepped back to let her in.

"So where are we going to work?" Kagome asked, her cool demeanour not unnoticed by the hanyou.

"Work?"

"The English project, remember?"

"Oh yeah, that. Uhh…how 'bout the table?"

"The table's fine."

Inuyasha cleared the table of his stuff and then sat down unceremoniously onto a chair and waited for Kagome. Kagome felt slightly uncomfortable entering a home without being given a small tour first, which was something she had picked up from her mother who always insisted on knowing where the bathroom was in an unfamiliar house. And with Inuyasha refusing to show her around made it seem improper for her to look around without his 'permission'.

Inuyasha must have noticed her discomfort, or simply the fact that she was standing in the middle of the room clutching her bag indicated something was not right, because he rolled his eyes and got to his feet.

Standing a few feet before her he pointed to certain areas of the apartment,

"Bathroom there, kitchen there, living room here, my room there, Rin's room there, Sesshoumaru's room there. Got it?"

Kagome, a little surprised by his roughness, nodded.

"Great, now let's sit down and wait for Miroku."

Kagome quietly followed him to the table and took a seat opposite him. Inuyasha plonked down noisily and rested his head on his arms which he placed on the table. Kagome looked around before settling her gaze on her hands, resting in her lap. She sighed loudly. Inuyasha raised his head slightly. It was unusual for Kagome to be this silent anywhere. He knew she was bursting with questions. When Kagome sighed again (and considerably louder this time) he growled and spoke up.

"Just ask already, woman!"

Kagome didn't need to be told twice.

"You said that there was a room that was Rin's, who's Rin?"

Inuyasha lifted his head from his arms and sat back. "Some little kid that Sesshoumaru adopted or something like that."

"Adopted? Like a daughter?"

"Nah, more like a…I dunno…she's just some kid okay?" Inuyasha replied, feeling irritated. The brusqueness with which he handled her question didn't deter Kagome in the slightest.

"And who's Sesshoumaru?"

"You haven't seen him at school?" Inuyasha asked incredulously.

"Well, probably but I don't know everyone's names."

"Keh. Sesshoumaru's my older half brother."

"You have an older brother?" asked Kagome in surprise, she was convinced that Inuyasha lived alone.

"_Half_ brother!" corrected Inuyasha fiercely.

Kagome blinked. "Fine, half brother, though it's the same thing really."

"I don't wanna talk about this anymore. I'm gonna call Miroku and see what's taking the bastard so long." Inuyasha snapped and he got up abruptly and grabbed the cordless phone from the kitchen counter. He punched in the number and listened to the rings. After the second ring he heard Miroku's oddly cheerful voice.

"Hello, this is Miroku."

"Hey you idiot, weren't you supposed to be here already?"

"Hi Inu, my man! Sorry but I ah, won't be able to make it to your place, I have…other stuff to do." Replied Miroku, not sounding the slightest bit apologetic.

"What? But you were supposed to bring Halo 3!"

"Yeah, well I won't be able to. I guess it's just you and Kagome there, huh? Yeah…well you two have fun with the English project…alone…"

"What? Are you okay, man?"

Miroku chuckled. "I'm fine. I'll send you my part of the project by email. You two enjoy yourselves now!"

Inuyasha heard the dialling tone before he could shout out anything obscene. He growled and slammed the phone onto the counter, causing Kagome to jump.

"What happened? What did he say?"

Muttering under his breath, Inuyasha joined her at the table. "The idiot can't make it."

"Oh. And where's your brother? And Rin?"

"My _half_ brother is picking Rin up from school."

Kagome sighed. "Well, we should get started on the project then."

Inuyasha slumped forward onto the table. "Bring it on." He said dully, his voice somewhat muffled.

Just as Kagome started to get out her notes, the doorbell rang. Inuyasha made an odd frustrated sound and hauled himself out of his chair.

"I could've sworn that bastard said he wouldn't be able to make it." Grumbled Inuyasha and he opened the door.

"You better have a good explanation for- Uhh…who the hell are you?"

Nanae blinked rapidly and looked around at the apartment number. "Uh, does Sesshoumaru live here?"

Inuyasha finally remembered her face. "Oh, you're that girl with the art thing. Nanny or Ninny was it?"

"Uh, Nanae."

"Whatever."

Nanae immediately recognised him as the boy she had crashed into at the launderette. How could she forget those cute dog-like ears? And his rough voice only proved to identify him further as the guy who had answered the phone when she had called Sesshoumaru, or tried to.

Was he Sesshoumaru's hanyou brother? He must have been, the resemblance between the two men didn't prove otherwise.

"So this _is_ his apartment?" she asked, rather anxiously.

"Yeah, come in then." He said, waiting for her to step through before slamming the door shut.

Nanae walked on with a mix of nerves and shyness, as she always did when she entered someone else's home. She noticed that the apartment was slightly larger than her own and much more organized. The kitchen looked tidy and the sitting room wasn't cluttered up with books and magazines, those were sitting neatly on shelves lining one of the walls. Nanae spotted another person sitting at a table situated close to the kitchen. The girl stood up and greeted her warmly.

"Hi, my name's Kagome, and he's Inuyasha. I didn't know he was expecting anyone else." Kagome said, and Nanae saw her furtively glance at the white haired boy.

"I don't know her, she's here for Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha responded, rather quickly. Kagome looked visibly relieved for some reason.

"Oh, my mistake. You're his girlfriend?"

Nanae was taken aback. "No! I mean, I'm just here to do some work."

Kagome smiled. "Oh, okay. Inuyasha? Why don't you show her around?"

"What? No, let's do the English project already!"

"Inuyashaaa-"

Sensing danger, Nanae spoke up. "It's fine really! I can look around myself if it's okay with Inuyasha."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Keh! Whatever." He sat down in his seat and ignored Kagome's angry glare.

Nanae sighed inwardly. She hoped she wouldn't have any more problems with these two, otherwise Sesshoumaru might decide to kick her out of his home. Where was Sesshoumaru anyway? She looked around, expecting him to appear.

"He ain't here."

Nanae looked at Inuyasha in surprise. He snorted with amusement.

"That crazy way you were lookin' around the whole apartment sorta gave it away."

Kagome gave him a disapproving frown and Nanae flushed a deep embarrassed red. She meekly put down her backpack on the floor and set off to explore the apartment, anything to get away from her present location. She greatly wished Kyouji had accompanied her.

Leaving the living room, she continued on through the corridor and the first room she approached was the bathroom. She only glanced around, noticing how fresh and clean it looked, with pale blue tiles and a cerulean glass encased shower. Nice.

She moved onto the next room and pushed open the door with the tips of her fingers. The sight was indeed a change, and completely different from the rest of the apartment. Clothes everywhere, papers, magazines, drawn curtains, a distinct smell of Doritos and a bed somewhere underneath all of that mess. And red. Lots and lots of red. She wouldn't even dare to believe that this was Sesshoumaru's room so it was safe to say it belonged to Inuyasha. She backed out and continued to the other rooms. She opened a door and gazed inside. This one was definitely Sesshoumaru's.

It was fascinating, not like Inuyasha's at all, no piles of clothes on any surface or tacky posters on the walls. Pale blue-grey walls and cream carpet, with blinds of that same colour. Metallic shelves on which dozens of books sat tidily and a fantastic sloping desk with a spotlight overhead. Nanae couldn't resist and she walked right in, careful not to touch anything.

He had the most amazing collection of art and history books, all of them in pristine condition; he had mountains of paints, pastels and felt pens…and Nanae stared enviously at the pack which contained those metallic markers she had wanted since forever.

The closet was metallic also, but it was closed and therefore out of bounds. The bed was pushed up against a wall, and it was neatly made, with grey and blue sheets. Nanae stood in the centre of the room shaking her head. She couldn't decide whether she hated Sesshoumaru more or less, now that she had seen his bedroom and his collections. She looked at his desk again. She'd wanted one of those for ages but she never had time to go and look for one. She felt a burning curiosity as she gazed at the drawers beneath it. Was that where he kept his sketchbooks? She knew he was a talented artist but she hadn't seen nearly as much of his work as she would have liked. Glancing behind her she listened hard. Inuyasha and Kagome were busy arguing about something. Nanae gazed back at the desk. Slowly she walked towards it and bent down to open the first drawer. It was full of blank paper. Nanae closed it and moved on to the next one, and this time she got lucky. The first picture she saw was of a little girl, of around seven or eight, with warm eyes and cutely tousled hair and a sweet smile. Nanae was definitely stunned, not only at the realism of the sketch but of what it represented. This was a human girl. Why on earth would Sesshoumaru draw a human girl? Was she a real person? Nanae put the piece of paper down and had a look at the others. The piece she picked up was undecipherable, just a bunch of continuous angry lines and scribbles all over the paper, pressed in so hard that the traces were palpable on the other side of the page. Nanae instantly felt like she had intruded on something private, realizing that what an artist decided to hide was entirely private and she would feel the same. She quickly put the pieces she had seen back in the drawer and left the room, hoping Sesshoumaru wouldn't notice her presence. She remembered with a frightening jolt that demons had an extremely keen sense of smell. Her fate was sealed. She just prayed he wouldn't enter his room any time soon.

She made her way to the living room and quietly sat down on the couch, placing her hands on her lap. Inuyasha and Kagome were still quarrelling over the English project. Nanae sighed, and almost hoped Sesshoumaru would arrive soon so that she could do her work and leave. She gazed around the living room, at the large TV, at the rapidly darkening sky visible through the windows and lastly at the vast shelves of books and magazines. She spotted a couple of picture frames on those shelves, and looking around to check if the two behind her were too busy to notice, she got up and went over to satisfy her curiosity. She peered closely at one of the smaller frames, recognising Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru instantly, even though they looked half the age they were now. Sesshoumaru's hair was shorter in the photo but there was no mistaking the crescent moon or the indifferent stare. Inuyasha of course had his ears, but in the picture he was grinning widely and clutching the hand that was on his shoulder, a hand that belonged to the most beautiful woman Nanae had ever seen. And she was unquestionably human. Standing beside her and with a hand on Sesshoumaru's shoulder was a man (or more precisely, demon) who Nanae could only assume to be Sesshoumaru's father, a handsome demon with dark stripes running along his cheeks and the exact same silvery hair as his sons.

It was the Taiyoukai family, together and content (well most of them) but Nanae couldn't explain the presence of the human woman. She obviously wasn't Sesshoumaru's mother because he was full demon. Was she Inuyasha's? What happened to Sesshoumaru's real mother? Or more importantly, why was it only Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha living in the apartment? Had they left home?

Nanae moved on to the next frame, this time the photo was of their father, Shaking the hand of someone who was of obvious importance and wearing some kind of uniform…

_Oh! It's a police uniform! But its not of a simple officer, it looks like he's been promoted or something. _Nanae thought, and that feeling of having heard the name Taiyoukai before returned. She could have sworn that surname was familiar to her even before entering Kokusai High and meeting Sesshoumaru.

The other photos were of the same human girl whose portrait Nanae had come across in Sesshoumaru's room. So she _was_ a real person.

Just then, the sound of keys in the front door greeted her ears, along with that of a child's laughter. She rapidly resumed her place on the couch and tried to look as casual and less anxious as possible.

The door swung open and in burst a little girl of around eight years who energetically plonked her back pack onto a vacant chair and zoomed around to greet Inuyasha with a big hug. Kagome was unable to hide her amusement.

"Inuyasha-chan!"

Inuyasha made a funny wheezing sound and shook her off.

Sesshoumaru entered shortly afterwards tossing his keys onto the counter. His cool gaze immediately landed on Nanae, sitting quietly on the couch. He shook off his jacket and placed it on the back of a vacant seat, while Nanae stood to her feet, accidentally knocking a cushion onto the floor. Flushing, she stooped down to pick it up and dropped it clumsily back on the couch.

Meanwhile, Rin was excitedly greeting Kagome with a warm hug. Kagome looked pleasantly surprised and hugged the child back.

"Your hair smells nice!" exclaimed Rin as she let go, and for some reason, Inuyasha turned a deep shade of red, however only Nanae seemed to notice it, since Kagome was laughing at Rin's comment and Sesshoumaru was staring unwaveringly at Nanae herself. Which was starting to feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Are you Inuyasha-chan's girlfriend?" asked Rin. Kagome's eyebrows shot up sky high and Inuyasha spluttered and covered Rin's entire face with his hand and pushed her back.

"Hahaha, funny kid, how 'bout we finish that project now?" Inuyasha said quickly. Kagome nodded, her face practically crimson.

Sesshoumaru sent Rin to her room to change out of her school uniform and the child happily obliged, skipping down the corridor. Nanae remained standing, her hands fidgeting anxiously. Sesshoumaru took a few steps closer to the couch that was acting as a barrier.

"Well, we might as well get started with our project then. Human."

_He could have at least learnt my name already. _Thought Nanae, a little indignantly. Since the only work place (which was the table) had already been taken, Nanae assumed that she and Sesshoumaru would use the couch so she sat down. Sesshoumaru left for a moment and came back holding a sleek black laptop, and Nanae eyed it longingly. She had wanted to save up to buy one for sometime now but she always ended up spending what little money she had on art materials. And Makis was worse, wasting her savings on clothes and raves.

Sesshoumaru sat himself in an armchair, a few feet away from Nanae. She felt a little humiliated at the measures he took just to put distance between them. Did she smell that bad? The couch was big enough for the both of them…or on second thought, it was probably better this way, as it was less awkward.

Nanae gathered her senses and took out the question sheet of the project along with information and notes she had made herself.

She cleared her throat. "Okay, so I've answered up to question five already and I've got information for questions nine, ten and thirteen. For the practical part, I was thinking of maybe Boticelli or even Rafael but I'm not sure if we're supposed to copy their work or draw something original using their style. Since its renaissance, it'll be a little difficult to find the materials but you have paints that are similar…"

She trailed off. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sesshoumaru shift in his seat, placing an ankle over his knee. When he spoke his voice displayed no emotion whatsoever.

"And just how would you know I possess paints that are similar?" He said, the end of the sentence lightly inflected to suggest a question. His eyes were burning through her.

Nanae swallowed and clutched her papers tightly. Was she in trouble now?

"Hmph." He said. He would certainly have a word with Inuyasha later. The idea of a human sniffing around among his belongings was simply despicable.

"Never go in my room, human. Is that clear?" his tone was cold and warning. Nanae stiffened and nodded. His face was unreadable.

"Now," he began, opening his laptop and starting it up, his amber gaze never leaving Nanae. "I've answered all of the questions apart from number five. As for the practical, I have some sketches already."

Nanae burned with embarrassment. She had been convinced that Sesshoumaru hadn't done a thing about the project. And she had clearly been mistaken, since it was painfully clear that he had done more than her. She wanted to leave that apartment right then and there, but it was impossible. She sunk down into her seat meekly, wishing he would stop staring at her.

Despite his irritation at knowing she had been in his room, Sesshoumaru felt that this evening would not be a complete waste. He could at least amuse himself awhile with the human. She was so easily manipulated, so gullible, and so easily flustered, he would have absolutely no problem confusing her. You can't simply enter a demon's room and get away with it. Plus, she was so extremely shy; he decided it had been this reason that had caught his attention in the first place. Her submissiveness. Most humans were.

He would enjoy himself tonight. And she wouldn't even know it.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

A/N: There! The next chapter will be fun. Please comment and tell me what you think.


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